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IN THE COURT OF APPEAL CRIMINAL DIVISION ON APPEAL FROM THE CROWN COURT AT CAMBRIDGE (HHJ SEAN ENRIGHT) (T20210344) CASE NO: 202403791 A2 NEUTRAL CITATION NUMBER: [2025] EWCA Crim 877 |
Royal Courts of Justice
Strand
London
WC2A 2LL
Before:
LORD JUSTICE DINGEMANS
MRS JUSTICE THORNTON
HIS HONOUR JUDGE ST JOHN-STEVENS
REX
v
WINSTON THOMAS PAPALAKA
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Computer Aided Transcript of Epiq Europe Ltd,
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_________
MS KENNIESHA STEPHENS appeared on behalf of the Appellant
MR ADAM NORRIS appeared on behalf of the Crown
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APPROVED JUDGMENT
MRS JUSTICE THORNTON:
Introduction
On 29 July 2024 the appellant was sentenced to 54 months in custody following his plea to an offence of burglary. The only issue raised in this appeal, brought with the leave of the single judge, is the credit to be calculated under section 325 of the Sentencing Act 2020 for the purposes of section 240A of the Criminal Justice Act as to the time spent on a qualifying remand. It is not therefore necessary to set out the background to the offending.
Background
By way of background to the proceedings, in passing sentence the judge did not specify any credit for time spent on a qualifying curfew. At the time both the prosecution and defence were in agreement that the time spent under curfew should not count as credit. This was because, whilst on 1 October 2021 the appellant was bailed with conditions which included an electronic tag with a qualifying period of 9 pm to 6 am, the tag was never fitted. However, Counsel, having conducted further legal research, considered this to be an incorrect approach.
Accordingly on 2 September 2024 a request was sent to the sentencing court for the error to be corrected by the slip rule, but the time for corrections under this rule had passed by the time the matter came back before the judge and accordingly it falls to be corrected by this court.
Analysis
For offenders convicted on or after 1 December 2020, section 325 of the Sentencing Act 2020 provides thatwhere a court passes a determinate sentence and the offender was remanded on bail with a qualifying curfew condition, the court must specify the credit period for the purposes of section 240A of the Criminal Justice Act (time remanded on bail to count as time served as part of the sentence). In R v Sothilingham [2023] EWCA Crim 485, the Court held that where a qualifying curfew had been ordered by the court, credit should be given even if the electronic tag had not been fitted due to administrative errors. There was nothing, the court said, in section 325 or 326 of the Sentencing Act which imported a requirement for the monitoring device to be functioning.
Before this court it is agreed by prosecution and defence that the number of days spent on qualifying curfew was 411, which when halved gives a credit period of 206 days.
Conclusion
Accordingly, we certify that the appellant has spent 411 days on remand subject to a qualifying curfew and we direct that 206 days will therefore count towards sentence.
Finally, we thank Mr Papalaka for attending today.
Epiq Europe Ltd hereby certify that the above is an accurate and complete record of the proceedings or part thereof.
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