Sentencing

Sentencing - General Underlying principle that there must be consistency in sentencing – similar crimes committed under similar circumstances by offenders whose circumstances are similar should be given similar sentences Court will have a range of sentencing options depending on type, seriousness and circumstances of the crime and the maximum penalty available by law Judge or Magistrates have guidelines available to help them make a decision

Aims of Sentencing S. 142 Criminal Justice Act 2003 – requires judges and magistrates to have regard for the following purposes of sentencing: The punishment of offenders The reduction of crime (including reduction by deterrence) The reform and rehabilitation of offenders The protection of the public The making of reparation by offenders to persons affected by their offences

Retribution Based on the idea of revenge Seen in the tabloid press when they demand extreme sentences for notorious offenders that have come to the public eye – e.g. suspected child molesters Many individuals, and often society as a whole, feel better that someone has gone to prison for a long time Those who support the death penalty often do so because of the idea of retribution Retribution should not always be the major principle behind the sentence

Deterrence Individual deterrence: Where the sentence is designed to make the offender not wish to re-offend for fear of suffering the same or worse punishment Experiment with young offenders in the 1990s: a number of young offenders who were likely to go to prison if they re-offended were given a tour of an adult prison by serving prisoners. There was a much lower than average reconviction rate and for many it was seen as a turning point in their lives General deterrence: Where the prospect of potential punishment dissuades most people from offending E.g. if government wanted to stop people parking illegally it could make the offence a strict liability offence punishable by a minimum of 10 years in prison Thought that likelihood of being caught is also a major deterrent and therefore better policing will help to reduce crime

Prevention of Crime Protects the public E.g. putting offenders in prison means they can’t re-offend during that time But it could be argued that criminal convictions lead to other convictions as employers are less willing to employ an ex-offender, so he is more likely to commit more offences

Rehabilitation Offering offenders help to overcome problems that they face, attempting to make it easier to avoid future offending Can be seen as “curing” offenders Can be concerned with providing offenders with skills to cope with life e.g. attendance at an anger management course or driver retraining

Categories of Sentences Custodial (prison) Community (e.g. community rehabilitation order) Financial (fine) Discharge (offender found guilty but no further action taken) Other (e.g. a driving ban)

Sentencing Guidelines Prepared by the Sentencing Council Set out the decision-making process for judges and magistrates Help judges and magistrates decide the appropriate sentence for a criminal offence Sentence should reflect the crime and be proportionate to the seriousness of the offence Guidelines set out a range of sentences to reflect different levels of seriousness and also a starting point for each offence Guidelines provide guidance on factors the court should take into account when deciding whether a more or less severe sentence should be imposed

Custodial Sentences Most serious sentence, reserved for the most serious crimes Imposed if the offence is so serious that neither a fine or community sentence can be justified The sentence represents the maximum amount of time the offender will remain in prison Prison population in England and Wales is one of the highest in Europe and continues to rise Prison sentence can be suspended – sentence will not take effect unless there is a subsequent offence within a specified period of time

Community Sentences Combine punishment with changing the offender’s behaviour and making amends Types: Compulsory (unpaid) work – something is put back into the community. Offender works up to 300 hours on local community projects e.g. cleaning up graffiti Programmes – aimed at changing offender’s behaviour e.g. anger management Curfew – offender must be at home at certain times (e.g. 9pm-6am) – offender must stay indoors, usually at their home for the curfew period. Usually wear an electronic tag on wrist or ankle to notify monitoring services if he is absent during those hours Exclusion from certain areas – for a period of up to 2 years – can also be a tag to monitor this Residence requirement – offender must reside at a specified place Drug treatment and testing Alcohol treatment Supervision – offender required to attend appointments with an Offender Manager from Probation Service Attendance – offender can be ordered to spend a total of between 12 and 36 hours at an attendance centre on a number of occasions over a set period. Offender addresses offending behaviour with others in a group. This also restricts the offender’s leisure time

Financial Sentences Can be a fixed penalty e.g. fixed penalty speeding fine Or can be given subject to a statutory maximum for the offence Most frequently imposed penalty Magistrates can impose a maximum of £5000 (subject to statutory maximum for particular offence) Compensation orders – these are different to fines as they are paid to the victim rather than the state and is designed to repay the victim e.g. for damage to property

Discharge Absolute Discharge – court decides to take no further action against an offender, but the discharge will appear on the offender’s criminal record Conditional Discharge – D is convicted without sentence on condition that he does not re-offend within a specified period of time – can be between 6 months and 2 years. If another offence is committed during this time, the court can look at the old offence as well as the new one in deciding the sentence to impose

Pre-Sentence Reports Serious offences likely to require a pre-sentence report Pre-sentence report prepared by Probation Service. Officer from Probation Service interviews D and will look at the reasons why D committed the offence, their attitude to the offence and to any victims, any other factors that affect their blameworthiness - these are aggravating and mitigating factors, assessment of offender’s risk of harm and their risk of reconviction

How the Court Selects a Sentence D’s previous convictions are made available to judge/magistrates Judge/magistrate will consider pre-sentence report if there is one They will use sentencing guidelines which asks them to consider following factors: The seriousness of the offence – the harm caused or intended to be caused, the level of involvement and blameworthiness of the offender Offender’s previous convictions Aggravating factors – may suggest a higher sentence is appropriate e.g. targeting a particularly vulnerable victim, racial or other discriminatory motivation Mitigating factors – may suggest a lower sentence is appropriate e.g. having been provoked, showing immediate remorse Personal mitigation – factors relating to the offender e.g. no previous history of offending Whether offender pleaded guilty – usually results in a lesser sentence Totality – where offender is being sentenced for more than one offence Relevant law – including the maximum sentence Factors will be relevant in deciding type of sentence and sentence length, requirements or amount