The SOPC was introduced in the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 in England and Wales, and the offences to which a SOPC may apply are set out in Schedule 13 to the Sentencing Code.
	The Counter Terrorism and Sentencing Act (CTSA) 2021 amended Schedule 13 to make a number of terrorism offences (carrying a maximum penalty of more than two years’ imprisonment) eligible for a SOPC as a minimum sentence (or in the case of Scotland and Northern Ireland an equivalent terrorism sentence with a fixed licence period).
	A SOPC must be imposed in circumstances where the court finds that neither the seriousness threshold for applying a life sentence, nor the dangerousness threshold for applying an EDS, have been met.
	In relation to adult offenders, SOPCs are governed by section 265 (offenders aged 18 and over but under 21) and section 278 (offenders aged 21 and over) of the Sentencing Code. Section 252A of the Sentencing Code provides for offenders aged under 18 when convicted of an offence listed in Part 1 of Schedule 13 to the Sentencing Act (offences involving or connected with terrorism).
	Offenders serving a SOPC cannot be considered for release before the two-thirds point of their custodial sentence. Unless released sooner at the discretion of the Parole Board, all offenders serving a SOPC must be released at the end of their custodial term and are then subject to a further 12-month licence period to manage the assessed risk the offender poses.
Legal background Part 1: Sentencing Offenders of particular concern