A man who burgled a house while pretending to be a police officer has been handed a custodial sentence after the Solicitor General, Rt Hon Michael Ellis QC MP, intervened and referred his sentence to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme.

Kyah McKenzie, 19, and three other men entered the home of the victim in the early hours of 31 July 2018, wearing masks and pretending to be police officers. One of the men carried a long barrelled gun over his shoulder.

The victim was assaulted by the men, dragged by her hair and slapped. They also stole her Samsung tablet, cigarettes and £85 in cash.

After the offenders left, the police were called to the scene. DNA analysis of some dried blood matched that of McKenzie and he was subsequently arrested by police.

McKenzie, who was 16 at the time of the burglary, was sentenced to a 2 year community order on 6 October 2020 at Chelmsford Crown Court and was ordered complete 200 hours of unpaid work.

Following a referral to the Court of Appeal by the Solicitor General, on 16 December the sentence was found to be unduly lenient and has been increased to 3 years’ and 6 months detention in a Young Offender’s Institution.

Speaking after the hearing, the Solicitor General said:

McKenzie caused significant harm to the victim while impersonating a police officer. I welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision today and I hope it brings some closure to the victim.