New guidelines for blackmail, kidnap and false imprisonment 

The Sentencing Council has published two new guidelines for sentencing offenders convicted of blackmail, kidnap or false imprisonment.

The new guidelines are the first for these offences. They have been developed following a consultation to help judges sentence the wide range of offending covered by cases of blackmail, kidnap or false imprisonment.

What is blackmail?

Blackmail is an offence under Section 21 of the Theft Act 1968. It involves making unwarranted demands with menaces, typically for financial gain or another form of benefit.

A person commits blackmail if:

1. They make a demand from someone,
2. With menaces (threats),
3. The demand is unwarranted, and
4. The intention is to gain for themselves or another, or to cause loss to another.

Blackmail Sentencing Guideline

The new blackmail guideline recognises the psychological harm and distress that can be suffered by victims of blackmail and assesses the level of actual or threatened loss not just in financial terms but in terms of what it would mean to the individual victim.

What is kidnap?

Kidnapping involves taking or detaining a person against their will through force, threat, or deception, often with the intent to hold them for ransom, force their compliance, or for other specific purposes.

There are four elements to the offence of kidnap namely:

• Taking of one person by another;
• By force/fraud;
• Without consent; and
• Without lawful excuse.

Often the offence of kidnap will be accompanied by other offences, for example, allegations of sexual assault.

What is false imprisonment?

False Imprisonment is the unlawful restriction of a person’s freedom of movement. Unlike kidnapping, it does not require that the victim is moved to a different location, only that they are confined or restrained without consent.

False imprisonment is an offence under common law and is distinct from kidnap as it involves purely the unlawful detention of the victim and does not involve the carrying away of the victim.

We often see cases of false imprisonment arising in a domestic setting. Allegations of being locked in a property by a partner or a partner prohibited from leaving a vehicle for example. This offence will often be charged alongside specific assault offences or can occur within the context of coercive and controlling behaviour in a domestic setting.

Kidnap and False Imprisonment Sentencing Guideline

The kidnap and false imprisonment guideline reflects that these offences can cause both physical and psychological harm to victims and allows the courts to recognise that false imprisonment in particular often occurs within the context of domestic abuse.

When do the new sentencing guidelines come into effect?

The new guidelines apply to adults sentenced in England and Wales and will come into effect on 1 April 2025.

Sentencing Council member, Mrs Justice Juliet May, said:

“Blackmail, kidnap and false imprisonment are serious offences. They are personal in nature, can leave victims feeling distressed and violated, and are often committed in cases involving domestic abuse.

The new guidelines from the Sentencing Council will enable the courts to take a consistent approach to sentencing these offences and help them pass sentences that recognise the full extent of the devastating impact these crimes can have on victims’ lives.”

Olliers Solicitors – specialist criminal defence lawyers

Olliers provide specialist advice and representation throughout England and Wales. We are the 2024 winners of the Manchester Legal Awards Crime Team of the Year, an award we have won seven times. We are ranked as a top tier criminal firm in the 2025 editions of the Legal 500 and Chambers Directory and are a Times Best Law Firm 2025.

Our specialist criminal defence lawyers have extensive experience of serious offences, including allegations of blackmail, kidnap and false imprisonment.

If you are facing an allegation of blackmail, kidnap and false imprisonment, please contact us by telephone on 0161 834 1515, email to info@olliers.com or complete the form below and we will contact you.