Sentencing

• Aims of Sentencing

  Retribution

  Punishing the offender for their behaviour.

  R v Coonan - The judge used the aim of retribution by sentencing the D to 13 life sentences for the 13 women he killed.
• Aims of Sentencing

  Individual Deterrence

  Courts give an individual an unusually harsh sentence to deter that individual from committing crimes again.

  R v Carter - The judge gave the D an unusually harsh 16 month prison sentence to deter him from re-offending.
• Aims of Sentencing

  General Deterrence

  Courts give an offender an unusually harsh sentence to deter the rest of society from committing similar crimes.

  R v Blackshaw - The judge stated that the 4 year prison sentence was designed to deter others from similar activities.
• Aims of Sentencing

  Reparation

  To compensate the victim or society for the crime that they committed.
• Aims of Sentencing

  Rehabilitation

  Changing the offenders behaviour and tackling the reasons why they commit a crime in the hope that they will not commit crimes again.
• Aims of Sentencing

  Protection of the Public

  The public needs to be protected from dangerous offenders.

  R v Winkler - The judge imposed a banning order preventing the defendant from being a danger to the public at football matches.
• Sentencing Act 2020

  Aggravating Factors

  Make the crime more serious and justifies a harsher sentence.

  Use of a weapon, Vulnerable victim, No remorse, Previous convictions, Racially motivated, Gang attack.
• Sentencing Act 2020

  Mitigating Factors

  Make the crime less serious and justifies a lenient sentence.

  Age of D, No previous convictions, Showing remorse, Mental illness, Minor role in crime, Co-operation with police, Early guilty plea.
• Reduction for Early Guilty Plea

  First reasonable opportunity - 1/3

  Overwhelming evidence of guilt - 20%

  After trial has begun - 1/10
• Reasons for reducing sentences for early guilty pleas

  Avoiding need for trial.

  Shortens time between charge and sentence.

  Saves money.

  Prevents trauma on behalf of victims and family.
• Adult Custodial Sentences

  Offender must spend time in prison.

  Sentencing Act 2020 - Section 221-232 governs custodial sentences including definitions, limits and powers of the courts.
• Adult Custodial Sentences Section 230 of the Sentencing Act 2020


  Court must not pass a custodial sentence unless it is of the opinion that the offence was so serious that neither a fine or community sentence can be justified.
• Adult Custodial Sentences

  Mandatory Life Sentence - Whole life term

  Should be set where the offence is extremely serious - Murder of 2 or more people Murder of a child Murder done with political, racial or religious motives.
• Adult Custodial Sentences

  Mandatory Life Sentence - Starting point of 30 years

  These cases include the: Murder of police / prison officer, Murder using a fire arm / explosive.
• Adult Custodial Sentence

  Mandatory Life Sentence - Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.


  Section 224 states a judge can impose a mandatory life sentence for a second violent or sexual crime.
• Adult Custodial Sentence

  Discretionary Life Sentence

  For other serious offences such as manslaughter, rape and robbery the maximum sentence is life imprisonment.

  Judge doesn’t have to impose a life sentence, he has discretion in sentencing, can give a lesser sentence.
• Adult Custodial Sentence

  What is a Fixed Term Sentence?

  Imprisonment for a set number of months or years.
• Adult Custodial Sentence

  Fixed Term Sentence

  Prisoners do not serve the whole of the sentence passed by court. Anyone sent to prison on fixed term sentence is automatically released after they have served half of the sentence.
• Adult Custodial Sentence

  Fixed Term Sentence - Crime and Disorder Act 1988

  Allows early release from prison on the condition that a curfew condition is included. Enforced by electronic tagging.
• Adult Custodial Sentence

  Fixed Term Sentence - Home Detention Curfew

  The idea of this is to help prisoners adjust to a normal life after being released and to prevent re-offending. It also frees up the prison population.
• Adult Custodial Sentence

  Extended Sentences

  Section 254 of the Sentencing Act 2020 gives the sentencing court the power to pass an extended sentence for a sexual crime (10 years) or violent crime (5 years).
• Adult Non-Custodial Sentence

  Fines

  Most common.

  Magistrates can give a max £5000 to an individual and a max £20,000 to a business.

  Governed under sections 118-132 of the Sentencing Act 2020.
• Adult Non-Custodial Sentences

  Discharges

  S.80 of the Sentencing Act 2020 - No further action unless a further offence is committed.

  S.79 of the Sentencing Act 2020 - No further action is taken at all.
• Community Orders

  Sentencing Act 2020 under section 201 lists possible community orders a judge can impose on an offender.
• Community Orders

  Unpaid Work

  Must work between 40 - 300 hours on a project organised by the Probation Service.

  Hours are fixed by the court and served in 8 hour shifts.
• Community Orders

  Curfew Requirement

  Offender must remain at a fixed address for between 2 and 16 hours in any 24 hour period.

  Can be enforced through electronic tagging.
• Community Orders

  Drug Rehabilitation

  Fast access to a drug treatment programme and aims to reduce drug-related offending behaviour.

  Offender is given a treatment plan lasting between 6 months and 3 years.

  Very personalised and failure to comply can result in prison.
• Community Orders

  Attendance Centre

  Offender spends between 12 to 36 hours at the centre over a set period of time. ( Max of 3 hours per day ).

  Opportunity to address the offending behaviour in a structured group setting.
• Community Orders

  Prohibited Activity

  Prevents the offender from taking part in a number of activities.

  Aim is to prevent the offender from committing another similar crime.