AC 2.3

• 5 aims of sentencing set out by the Criminal Justice Act 2003


  1. The punishment of offenders

  2. Crime reduction, including through deterrence

  3. Rehabilitation of offenders

  4. Protection of the public

  5. Reparation to victims

  Any or all of these aims may be relevant in a case and its for the judge or magistrate to decide how they apply.
• The sentencing framework (4 types of sentences)


  1. Custodial sentence

  2. Community sentence

  3. Fines

  4. Discharges
• Imprisonment (3 types of custodial sentences)


  Prison sentences are imposed by courts for serious offences or when the court believes that the public must be protected by putting the offender away. (e.g. half of all prison sentences are for sex or violent offences).

  Types of custodial sentences:

  1. Determinate sentences

  2. Indeterminate sentences

  3. Life sentences

  4. Suspended sentences
• Life sentences


  Life sentenceis the most serious punishment that can be imposed by a court. The judge will set the minimum time that the offender must spend in prison before they will be considered for release by the Parole Board. The Parole Board assesses whether they are suitable for release and if so sets the rules for licence. The offender remains on lisence for the rest of the life.

  Mandatory life sentencesmust be given for murders. Discretionaty life sentences can also be given for serious offences such as rape. A judge can sentence the offender for the whole life term, meaning they will never be released.
• Determinate sentences


  A determinate sentence is one with fixed length. The majority of prison population serve those (60-65k). In most cases not whole sentence is served in prison:

  1. If a sentence is less than 12 moths, the offender will be released after a half of it.

  2. If the sentence is 12 motnhs or more the offender is released after a half of it and released into the community on licence under the supervision of the probation service. The licence will include conditions that must be followed, otherwise the offender is send back to prison for all or part of their sentence.
• Suspended sentence


  Offender can receive a suspended sentence but do not go to prison. This can be given instead of sentences of less than 12 months. Sentences can be suspended for up to 2 years. The court may also require them to attend drug addiction treatment or probation. The offender must not committ any further offence and abide the court's requirements, otherwise they will be send to prison to serve their original sentence. In 2018. 16% of convicts for serious offences received a suspended sentence.
• Does imprisonment meet its aims? (retribution)


  Retribution argues that criminals deserve to be punished and that the punishment should fit the crime. Imprisonment punishes offenders by taking away their freedom. It is however, difficult to say whether custodial sentences give "just deserts". How do we decide what sentence length fits difference offences. Society disagrees about length of sentences.
• Does imprisonment meet its aims? (deterrence)


  It is argued that prisons deter possible offenders and actual offenders from committing further crimes. But high recidivism rates suggest that prison is not an effective deterrent for many. This way, around 50% of all ex-prisoners reoffend within a year of release. Deterrence would only work if all offenders thought rationally. However, many offences are committed under the influence of drugs or alcohol, some do not get proper education or seuffer from mental illnesses, therefore may not be able to consider the risks rationally.
• Does imprisonment meet its aims? (public protection)


  Impprisonment works by taking offenders out of society for the duration of their term, so they cannot offend (however, they can offend in the prison). There are several ways in which imprisonment can protect public:

  1. Whole life sentences keep offenders permanently off the streets.

  2. Prisoners serving indeterminate sentences can be kept in jail for as long as they are deemed a danger to the public

  3. There has been a trend towards longer sentences, so the public remains protected from offenders for longer. This inludes mandatory minumum sentences.

  4. Most prisoners are released on licence and under supervision. If they become a danger to the public they can be recalled to prison.

  However, prisons can be "schools for crime" where inmates will acquire new skills and contacts, thus while prisons protect the public while offenders are in jail, in may lead to greater harm upon their release. Also, keelping prisoners inside is very costly, critics argue that these funds could be used for other ways of protecting the public.
• Does imprisonment meet its aims? (reparation)

  Punishment of the offenders also aims to repay the harm done to the victim and society. This way, under the Prisoners' Earnings Act 2011, inmates who can work outside of prison to be reintegrated into society upon release can be made to pay a part of their income to victim support services, forcing inmates to take responsbility for the harm.
• Does imprisonment meet its aims? (rehabilitation; statistics, short sentences)


  Although rehabilitation is an aim of imprisonment statistics suggest that rehabilitation is not very successful:

  1. Around 50% reoffend within a year of release.

  2. This figure rises to 64% for sentences of less than 12 months.

  3. 5.616 prisoners were recalled to prison in 2018.

  Short sentencesare often a reason for high recidivism. Nearly half of all sentences are 6 months or less. This means that there is not enough time to address the issues that cause offending. Former Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke said: "virtually impossible to do anything productive with offenders on short sentences".
• Does imprisonment meets its aims? (rehabilitation; education and training, addressing offending behaviour)


  Education and training.Even with longer sentences opportunities for addressing inmates' issues are limited. Only 1/4 of prisoners have a job upon their release. This is may be due to lack of education or skills (half of prisoners have the literacy skills of the average 11y.o.). There is ferwer than 400 (0.5 a months releases on temporary licence for inamtes to work in society.

  Addressing offending behaviour.There is not enough places on courses addressing criminal behaviour, such as anger managment programmes. Many prisoners on indeterminate sentences remain in prisons due to lack of such programmes.
• Community sentences


  Community sentences are imposed for offences that are not serious enough for prison but too serious for fines or discharges. A Community Order issued by the court may involve:

  1. Supervision by a probation officer.

  2. Between 40 and 300 hours of unpaid work.

  3. A curfew or exclusion order.

  4. A residency requirment.

  5. A group programme.

  6. Treatment for drug or alcohol addiction, or for mental health issues.
• Do community sentences meet its aims? (retribution, reparation, public protection)


  Retribution.Curfews and exclusion orders is a form of retribution as it restricts offenders' freedom. Similarly, during doing unpaid work offenders have to wear high visibility vests with "Community Payback" on the back, this is a way of retribution.

  Reparation.Doing unpaid work to repair harm caused by the offence regardless whether to the victim or to the whole society during "Community Payback" is a way of reparation.

  Public protection.Community sentences do not take the offender away from society, therefore do not achieve the aim of public protection, however, if the offenders breaches terms of community sentence they can be send to prison.
• Do community sentences meet its punishment aims? (rehabilitation)


  Offenders often have multiple and complex issues that may be cause of their offending, such as homelessness, drug addiction, etc. Community sentences may aim to address those issues, for example offenders can be required to go through addiction treatment programme.

  Studies have shows that community sentences are more effective at rehabilitation than short prison sentences:

  1. In a Ministry of Justice study, 34% reoffend within 12 months of starting their community sentence (64% for custodial sentences less than 12 months).

  2. The Prison Reform Trust found that community sentences are particularly effective with many previous offenders. For those over 50 previous convictions, reoffending is over 1/3 higher for those given a short sentence rather than a community sentence.

  Despite this, use of community sentences has declined. Between 2007 and 2017, the proportion of offenders receiving Community Orders fell from 14% to 8%.
• Fines


  Financial penalties for offences. They are usually given for less serious offences. Usually used by the magistrates' courts, even with indictable offences (about 15% receive a fine). The amount depends on:

  1. The offence itself. The law lays down maximum fines for different offences.

  2. The circumstance of the crime.According The Sentencing Guidelines fine depends on factoers such as whether it was a first offence, how much has has been done.

  3. The offender's ability to pay.A poorer defendant might receive a lesser fine and be allowed to pay in instalments.

  4. Which court is hearing the case.Magistrates can impose a fine up to 5k (10k for 2+ offences).
• Do fines meet its aims? (retribution, deterrence)


  Retribution.Making offenders pay can be a good way to make them suffer for the harm they have done.

  Deterrence.After a fine the offender may feat further punishement. Since fines is often punishment for a first offence, they can be used as a signal that punishment for another offence will be harsher.

  Failure to pay.Offenders who fail to pay may face prisons. Courts can deduct fines from offenders' benefits, seize their property if they do not pay. Despite this, many fines are not being paid. By 2016, backlog of unpaid fines had reached 747m. Many of these were written off as uncollectible. This suggests that fines do not meet thheir aims of punishment.
• Discharges


  When the court finds someone guilty of a minor offence but decides not to impose a criminal conviction, they will be given a charge.

  1. A conditional dischargemeans that the offender will not be punished unless they committ another offence within a ser period of time determined by the court (up to 3 years). If they offend, the court can sentence them the original and the new offence. This will result in criminal record.

  2. An absolute (or unconditional) dischargemeans that no penalty is imposed. The court may grant an inconditional discharge where the defendant is technically guilty but where punishment would be inappropriate, usually because the defendant is morally blameless. It is not classed a a conviction. These are usually used for minor offences but in the Thirsk rail crash 1892 in which 10 people died, a signalman was found guilty of manslaughter but given unconditional discharges because of the unusual circumstances of the case.
• Do discharges meet its punishment aims?

  Discharges are the lowest level of punishment and their aim is deterrence, they are virtually a warning to individual's future conduct. There is a low recidivism rate for discharges, especially if it was for a 1st offence - probably because the experience of going to court is enough for them to mind their ways. Therefore, discharges largely meet their punishment aims.