Video 14.2 How offenders are sentenced in England and Wales

Sentencing

Video titled: Video 14.2 How offenders are sentenced in England and Wales

Sentencing Council.

Imagine you were given the details of several different crimes. How would you go about working out the right sentence for each offender?How would you make sure that the victim felt that justice had been done?And how would you try to make sure the offender didn't do it again?You might think about which crimes were most serious. What happened to the victim?Why did the offender do it?Was it on the spur of the moment?Or did they mean to do it?These are the kinds of questions judges and magistrates think about every day, and this short film aims to explain a bit more about how sentences are decided. One of the most important things is to make sure appropriate sentences aregiven for each crime. In other words, the punishment should fit the crime. To do this, judges and magistrates in England and Walesuse sentencing guidelines. These also help them sentence in the same way, whether they're in Newcastle, Newport, or Newbury. Every crime and every offender is differentand no two cases or victims are ever the same, but the way in which a judge or magistrate decides the sentenceis the same.

For each crime there is a range of sentences available and the judgeor magistrates have to decide which type of sentence is right. The judge or magistrates will think abouthow serious the offence is. The more serious, the greater the sentence. For example, a burglar who kicked down someone's front door and threatened them with a knifewould be treated more seriouslythan a burglar who reached through an open windowto steal something. Then there's the harmcaused to the victim. This could be physical injury like a broken arm, psychological effects such as stress, or the loss of possessions or money. And the offender's level of blame. For example, planning the offence, using a weapon, or targeting a vulnerable victim would all make the offendermore blameworthy. The judge or magistratesalso think about whether the defendant already has a criminal record. Someone who has been found guilty of similar crimes beforewill be treated more harshly. Personal circumstances will also be considered. For example, the offender might look after dependent relatives. They might have shown they are genuinely sorryor come cleanand admitted they committed the crimeand pleaded guilty. The earlier an offender admits their guilt the better as it will save victims andwitnesses the stress of going through a trialas well as saving court costs and time. If an offender admits to a crimeit usually means they get a lower sentence - up to a third off when they admit itat the an earliest opportunity. The later the guilty plea the smaller the reduction, which when you think about itis a good way of getting offenders to admit their guilt sooner rather than later. Judges and magistrates will also think about what sort of sentence would bemost likely to change the offender's behaviour. None of us wants to become another victim of the same offenderso it is important that the sentence helps stop them committing more crime in thefuture.

There are four main types of sentence. The toughest, prison, is used when a crime is so seriousor an offender's record is so bad, no other sentence will do. Offenders will normally spend half their sentence in prisonand the rest on licence in the community. Being on licence means offenders have to obey certain rules which could includewearing an electronic tag which restricts where they can go. If they don't follow therulesthey can be sent back to prison. Community sentences both punish through things such as unpaid work, removing graffiti, and try to help people stay out of troublethrough things like treatments for drug addiction. This is not a soft option. Offenders can be made to do between 40 and 300 hours of demandingwork. Fines are for the less severe offencesand are the most common type of sentence. The amount of fine is set by the court after considering the seriousness ofthe offenceand how much money the offender has. Finally we have discharges. These are used in the least serious offences for which the experience ofbeing taken to courtis thought to be punishment enough. But a discharge can come with conditions that that mean the offender must stayout of trouble - if they commit another crime, they can be sentenced for thefirst offence and the new one. So hopefully the short film has given you a better idea of how sentencingworks. If you'd like to find out more about sentencing, please visit our website. www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk. Thank you.

Source: Sentencing Council

Credit: © Sentencing Council 2020

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