Content style guide updates
New and updated entries in the MoJ content style guide.
| Entry | Type | Description | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| PNC number | New | An identity number assigned to a person in the Police National Computer (PNC). Use ‘PNC number’. This is more well known than the full version. | 9 January 2025 |
| Category (such as Category A prison) | Updated | Category can be shortened to ‘Cat’ if space is limited, for example in alert flags on the prisoner profile. | 21 February 2025 |
| probation practitioner | Updated | Corrected ‘probation support officer’ to ‘probation services officer’. | 26 March 2025 |
| Prison, establishment | New | A new entry on how to use the terms ‘prison’ and ‘establishment’.
It includes guidance on how to refer to adult prisons, young offender institutions (YOIs) and other establishments. It also outlines which terms are more likely be understood by the public and users with English as a second language. |
25 February 2025 |
| Identity numbers (HMPPS only) | Updated | A change to the identity numbers entry to include the probation term CRN. | 28 February 2025 |
| pre-sentence report (PSR) | New | Write out pre-sentence report (PSR) on first mention and use PSR or ‘the report’ thereafter.
PSRs are reports that a court uses to help decide on a defendant’s sentence. They consider a defendant’s offending behaviour, the risk they pose and to whom. A PSR will provide an independent recommendation of the sentencing options available to the court. |
1 April 2025 |
| SDS40 | New | SDS40 stands for Standard determinate sentence with a 40% release date. SDS40 is a statutory instrument that changed the release points of certain sentences and offences from 50% to 40%. The term SDS40 is commonly understood in HMPPS. | 1 April 2025 |