Sentencing
Aims of sentencing:
- Retribution – imposing a punishment because the offender deserves punishment.
- Deterrence – this can be individual deterrence or general deterrence. Individual deterrence
is intended to ensure that the offender does not re-offend, through fear of future
punishment. General deterrence is aimed at preventing other potential offenders from
committing crimes. Both are aimed at reducing future levels of crime.
- Protection -
- Reparation – where an offender compensates the victim of the crime usually by paying a
sum of money to the victim or to make restitution. – also includes making reparation to
society as a whole.
- Denunciation – reinforces the moral boundaries of acceptable conduct and can mould
society’s views on the criminality of particular conduct. – expressing society’s disapproval of
an offender’s behaviour.
Custodial sentences
- Most serious punishment
- Can range from a few weeks to life imprisonment.
- Can include mandatory and discretionary life sentences, fixed-term sentences, suspended
sentences.
- Meant to be used only for serious offences.
- Criminal Justice Act 2003- custodial sentences must not be passed unless the Court is of the
opinion that the offence ‘was so serious that neither a fine alone nor a community sentence
can be justified.’
Mandatory life sentences
- Murder = only sentence a judge can impose is a mandatory life sentence.
- Judge is allowed to state the minimum number of years imprisonment that the offender
must serve before being eligible for release on licence.
- The minimum term is now governed by the Criminal Justice Act 2003
- The starting points range from a full life term down to 12 years depending on the facts of the
case.
Discretionary life sentences -
Fixed term sentences – for other crimes, the length of the sentence will depend on several factors,
including the maximum sentence available for the particular crime,
Prison population
Suspended prison sentence
Types of community orders:
Unpaid work order – this requires the offender to work for between 40 and 300 hours on a suitable
project organised by the probation service. The exact number of hours will be fixed by the court.
Prohibited activity requirement – this requirement allows a wide variety of activities to be
prohibited. The idea is to try to prevent defendants from committing another crime of the type they
Aims of sentencing:
- Retribution – imposing a punishment because the offender deserves punishment.
- Deterrence – this can be individual deterrence or general deterrence. Individual deterrence
is intended to ensure that the offender does not re-offend, through fear of future
punishment. General deterrence is aimed at preventing other potential offenders from
committing crimes. Both are aimed at reducing future levels of crime.
- Protection -
- Reparation – where an offender compensates the victim of the crime usually by paying a
sum of money to the victim or to make restitution. – also includes making reparation to
society as a whole.
- Denunciation – reinforces the moral boundaries of acceptable conduct and can mould
society’s views on the criminality of particular conduct. – expressing society’s disapproval of
an offender’s behaviour.
Custodial sentences
- Most serious punishment
- Can range from a few weeks to life imprisonment.
- Can include mandatory and discretionary life sentences, fixed-term sentences, suspended
sentences.
- Meant to be used only for serious offences.
- Criminal Justice Act 2003- custodial sentences must not be passed unless the Court is of the
opinion that the offence ‘was so serious that neither a fine alone nor a community sentence
can be justified.’
Mandatory life sentences
- Murder = only sentence a judge can impose is a mandatory life sentence.
- Judge is allowed to state the minimum number of years imprisonment that the offender
must serve before being eligible for release on licence.
- The minimum term is now governed by the Criminal Justice Act 2003
- The starting points range from a full life term down to 12 years depending on the facts of the
case.
Discretionary life sentences -
Fixed term sentences – for other crimes, the length of the sentence will depend on several factors,
including the maximum sentence available for the particular crime,
Prison population
Suspended prison sentence
Types of community orders:
Unpaid work order – this requires the offender to work for between 40 and 300 hours on a suitable
project organised by the probation service. The exact number of hours will be fixed by the court.
Prohibited activity requirement – this requirement allows a wide variety of activities to be
prohibited. The idea is to try to prevent defendants from committing another crime of the type they
