SentenceWise
A free guide to the justice system in England and Wales, step by step and in plain English: from arrest and charge, through court, sentence and prison, to release and life afterwards.
Who it is for
- People going through the system: facing charges, waiting for court, serving a sentence or preparing for release.
- Family and friends: partners, parents and others supporting someone inside, including plain-language material to help explain things to children.
- Victims of crime: what the process looks like from the other side, and where to find independent support.
- Anyone who supports them: keyworkers, mentors, volunteers and community organisations who want a clear, checkable account of how things work.
The app includes Easy Read guidance, verified helpline and support service details, and a quick-exit feature for anyone who needs to close it discreetly.
Everything stays on your phone
The app works completely offline. It has no accounts, no analytics and no trackers, and makes no network requests at all: the Android app does not even hold the permission needed to use the internet. Nobody, including the people who make the app, can see anything you put into it. The privacy policy sets out what that means.
Information, not legal advice. SentenceWise gives general information about how the system works. It is not legal advice, it cannot calculate release dates and it cannot predict the outcome of any case. Always check anything important against your own official documents, or with a solicitor or other qualified adviser. Read the full disclaimer.
Where the information comes from
The guidance is written by SentenceWise and grounded in official public sources: GOV.UK guidance, prison and probation policy documents and other public sector information. Each topic is dated inside the app, so you can see how current it is. The disclaimer and sources page has the details and full attributions.
In an emergency
If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 999. If you cannot speak safely, listen and follow the operator: on a mobile, press 55 when prompted. Samaritans are free to call any time on 116 123. These services are independent of SentenceWise.
SentenceWise provides general information, not legal advice, and is not an official government service. The app's source code is licensed under the MPL-2.0 and its original content under CC BY 4.0. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.