justice4victims - Sentencing Policy

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Sentencing Policy*

*information correct at November 2007.

(Please note: justice4victims.org intend this page purely for reference - it is not meant to be inferred as evidence of legal recourse, and we strongly recommend it is not so relied upon.)

Scroll down the page for victims' rights of appeal and sentencing tariffs.

Parole policy

Sentences under 4 years - Those convicted of serious offences (12 months or more) will automatically be released from custody at the halfway point of their sentence (Automatic Conditional Release), and will then receive Probation Service supervision until the three-quarter point. In some cases offenders may be released one-third of the way into their sentence (Discretionary Conditional Release) and held under curfew at home or in a Probation-approved hostel.

Sentences of 4 years and above - Offenders can be released from custody from the halfway point onward, if and when found to satisfy the criteria of the Parole Board, then supervised on a licence by the Probation Service until the three-quarter point. If still not granted parole by the three-quarter point, offenders must be freed with no supervision or licence conditions in place (Non-parole Release), though clearly this is a scenario the Parole Board are anxious to avoid, and is often their justification for the release of offenders who still pose a risk.

(The above corresponds to existing legislation - CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT 2003. At the time of publishing proposals are in place to extend licence conditions to the full-length of the sentence. Also in the proposals, offenders classified as 'dangerous' will only be released when it is considered safe to do so, and not before the half-way point.)

Victim's right to appeal against a sentence

A person, most commonly the victim, has the right to appeal against the sentence passed on the offender, only in the circumstances that the sentence was considered "unduly lenient". This must be lodged via the Attorney General's Office, within 28 days of the original sentencing date; the decision then to pursue the appeal is entirely at the discretion of the Law Officers, and their decision to pass the case to the Court of Appeal is proprietary and final. Unduly lenient sentences may only involve those in which the judge is believed to have made an error and not imposed an appropriate sentence within the guidelines for that offence, or where there is pressure to consider aggravating factors which were not previously considered.

For CPS guidelines on appealing against an unduly lenient sentence visit:

http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/a_to_c/appeals_against_unduly_lenient_sentences/

Sentencing tariffs

Sentences apply to individual offences, and will more likely be maximized if committed in conjunction with another offence, and custody apply to the more serious of them. For more detailed information about consecutive/concurrent sentencing and how mitigating or aggravating factors may affect sentencing, visit the Sentencing Advisory Panel at:

http://www.sentencing-guidelines.gov.uk/.

VIOLENCE AGAINST THE PERSON
*OFFENCE*	MAXIMUM CUSTODIAL SENTENCE	*LEGISLATION*
Murder	Mandatory Life	Murder (Abolition of the Death Penalty) Act 1965
Manslaughter	Life	Homicide Act 1957
Attempted murder	Life	Criminal Attempts Act 1981 s.1
Causing GBH with intent / wounding with intent	Life	Offences Against the Person Act 1861 s.18
Assault with intent to rob	Life	Theft Act 1968 s.8
Abduction with criminal intent	10 years	Criminal Justice Act 2003
Cruelty to a child	10 years	Children and Young Person's Act 1933
Unlawful wounding / causing GBH	5 years	Offences Against the Person Act 1861 s.20
Assault occasioning ABH	5 years	Offences Against the Person Act 1861 s.47
Assault with intent to resist arrest	2 years	Offences Against the Person Act 1861 s.38
Common Assault	*6 months (summary offence)**	Criminal Justice Act 1988 s.39
Assault on a police constable on duty	*6 months (summary offence)**	Police Act 1996 s.89

*A summary offence is one which can only be dealt with in a magistrates court, and not committed for trial. The maximum custodial sentence available to a magistrate is 6 months.

SEXUAL OFFENCES
*OFFENCE*	*MAXIMUM CUSTODIAL SENTENCE*	*LEGISLATION*
Rape	Life	Sexual Offences Act 2003 s.1
Assault by penetration	Life	Sexual Offences Act 2003 s.2
Causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent	Life	Sexual Offences Act 2003 s.4
Sexual activity with a person whose mental disorder impedes consent	Life	Sexual Offences Act 2003 s.30
Sexual activity with a child	14 years (5 years if offender under 18)	Sexual Offences Act 2003 s.9
Causing a child to engage in sexual activity	14 years (5 years if offender under 18)	Sexual Offences Act 2003 s.10
Arranging a child sex offence	14 years	Sexual Offences Act 2003 s.14
Sexual Assault	10 years (14 years if victim under 13)	Sexual Offences Act 2003 s.3/s.7
Meeting a child following sexual grooming	10 years	Sexual Offences Act 2003 s.15
Administering a substance with intent	10 years	Sexual Offences Act 2003 s.61
Exploitation of prostitution	7 years	Sexual Offences Act 2003 s.52

OTHER OFFENCES
*OFFENCE*	*MAXIMUM CUSTODIAL SENTENCE*	*LEGISLATION*
Aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring an indictable offence	Life	Criminal Law Act 1977
Causing or conspiring to cause an explosion likely to endanger life	Life	Explosive Substances Act 1883
Arson, reckless to whether life endangered	Life	Criminal Damage Act 1971 s.1
Illegal possession of a firearm (with or without intent)	Mandatory 5 years	Firearms Act 1968
Breach of a protective order	5 years	Protection from Harassment Act 1997
Carrying a knife in a public place	2 years	Knives Act 1997

FACTORS THAT MAY INFLUENCE SENTENCING
*MITIGATING FACTORS*	*AGGRAVATING FACTORS*
Expression of remorse.	Failure to express remorse.
Genuine affection between victim and offender.	Repeated targeting of victim.
Violence minimal.	High level of violence.
Genuine belief offence was not committed.	Level of harm intended.
Offender intervened to halt offence.	Offender ignored pleas of victim / witnesses.
Unintended injury.	Level of physical / psychological injury.
Guilty plea.	Attempt to evade arrest / prosecution.
Provocation.	Premeditation.
Youth of offender.	Age / vulnerability of victim at time of offence.
Handing in oneself to authorities.	Threats to prevent victim reporting offence.
Diminished responsibility / mental state of offender.	Use of drugs, alcohol or other substance in facilitation of offence.
Genuine belief arrest was unlawful (assault on a police officer).	Offence committed whilst on bail / licence.
Seeking help for victim.	Degradation of victim.
Acting under threat/coercion by a dominant offender.	Number of offenders.
	Number of victims.
	Abduction / detention of victim.
	Children / others present at time of offence.
	Substantial gain from offence.
	Pattern of similar offending
	Use / carrying of a weapon at time of the offence.
	Forced entry to access victim.
	Offence racially or religiously motivated.
	Abuse of position of power / trust.
	Offender aware he/she is suffering from an STI at time of offence (sexual offences).