People convicted of crimes in England and Wales could find themselves barred from going to pubs and sport matches as part of changes to sentencing rules.
Courts imposing community sentences would have the power to hand out driving and travel bans under legislation expected to be introduced next month.
The changes are also expected to restrict the use of short prison sentences to ease overcrowding, as well as introduce a scheme to release some well-behaved inmates early.
The legislation will implement many of the recommendations made by ex-Conservative justice secretary David Gauke in his independent sentencing review published in May.
Courts are currently able to impose limited bans on people convicted of certain offences, for example someone found guilty of violence at football matches can be banned from stadiums.
But the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) wants judges and magistrates to be able to impose these punishments for a wider range of offences, meaning offenders could face additional penalties unrelated to their specific offence.
Offenders released from prison who are supervised by the Probation Service could also face similar restrictions as well as more mandatory drug testing, even if they do not have a history of substance misuse.
The government said in May that it also intended for some prisoners in England and Wales to be eligible for release after serving a third of their sentence, as it responded to the independent Gauke review.
But Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she had ruled out allowing the most serious offenders, including those jailed for terror offences, from being released early.
Gauke’s early release recommendations were inspired by reforms to high-security, supermax prisons in the US state of Texas, where inmates can earn early release.
The model sees offenders progressing through three stages, with good behaviour rewarded with early release after completing a third of their sentence. But if this is not observed prisoners stay in jail.
On the plan for more restrictions on those facing non- custodial sentences, former Old Bailey Criminal Judge Wendy Joseph KC told the BBC there could be good results but only if it was properly funded and considered.
“The idea you can keep people out of pubs might be putting a lot of weight on people who run pubs,” she said.
She added that “you’ve got to find a way of catching the people who breach the rules, and punish them”.
Some in the hospitality sector voiced similar concerns about how to implement bans on going to pubs and gigs.
Michael Kill, head of the Night Time Industries Association, said ministers should work with the sector to ensure the scheme “does not unfairly burden venues that are already struggling to survive”.
The MoJ said its sentencing reforms were aimed at deterring crime, making streets safer and ensuring prisons never ran out of places for dangerous offenders.
The government began releasing thousands of inmates early soon after coming to power in 2024, saying they had inherited a prison system from the previous Conservative government that was on the brink of running out of spaces.
The MoJ also plans to change probation conditions for offenders leaving prison, including restricting serious sexual and violent criminals to a specific area.
The government said limiting offenders to a geographical zone, policed by tougher monitoring and enhanced tagging, would give victims greater peace of mind.
But this – as well as the early releases – have faced criticism for placing further pressure on the probation service and police forces.
The MoJ said new technology will free up the administrative burden on probation officers to increase supervision of the most dangerous offenders.
It says at least 1,300 new trainee probation officers will be recruited into the service this year, and that the service will receive a £700m funding boost by 2028.
