He has backed widespread public calls for longer prison terms for many offenders, following a string of high-profile court cases recently involving sexual abuse and indecent images.
His committee has announced a review of sentencing policies, and he said over the weekend that it was time for elected politicians to issue the courts with more guidelines for dealing with convictions of greatest concern to the public.
‘When there is an incident involving sexual abuse, and that sort of heinous crime, often the sentences handed out by the courts are not suitable in the public’s eyes,’ said Deputy Leadbeater.
‘There is a disparity between certain sentences where there are no victims and some of these horrible crimes where there are sometimes a considerable number of victims.
‘This is more than just perception – there is certainly substance to some of these claims.
‘Hopefully we can get to the stage where we can have some involvement, show people we are listening and going to change these guidelines to give the judiciary more options to be able to hand out sentences which the public feel are just.’
Politicians in Guernsey have traditionally been more reluctant than many of their counterparts elsewhere to become involved in justice policy, including sentencing guidelines.
However, the States started work on the island’s first criminal justice strategy some 15 years ago, and there has since been a gradual expansion in the role of elected members in developing justice policy.
In an extensive interview on the latest Guernsey Press Politics Podcast, Deputy Leadbeater argued that politicians could play a more active role in sentencing guidelines while maintaining the separation and independence of the judiciary.
‘I think the public expect us to. They put us in this position for many things, and they want us to ensure we have a just society,’ he said.
‘If we have sentencing which the public don’t feel is just, it’s our responsibility to do something about that.
‘We can’t just sweep it under the carpet.’
The previous States agreed a justice framework which suggested that sentencing guidelines were necessary to build greater public confidence in the justice system.
Deputy Leadbeater hoped to carry out that work alongside the judiciary and present proposals to the States before the end of the political term.
As a first stage, he said that Home Affairs was taking advice from Gemma Buckland, who specialises in criminal justice research, policy and advocacy, and is expected to agree terms of reference for its sentencing review by the end of March.