New sentencing guidelines dealt with the general concept of seriousness in the light of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, and considered how sentencers should determine when the respective sentencing thresholds had been crossed when applying the provisions of the Act.
Source: Overarching Principles: Seriousness, Sentencing Advisory Panel (020 7035 5158)
Links: Guidance (pdf)
Date: 2004-Dec
Sentencing guidelines were published covering the reduction in sentence for defendants who pleaded guilty. Reductions in the minimum sentence for convicted murderers were limited following criticism of previous draft guidelines.
Source: Reduction in Sentence for a Guilty Plea, Sentencing Advisory Panel (020 7035 5158)
Links: Guidance (pdf) | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Dec
Guidelines were published covering the new non-custodial powers under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 - the new community sentence and the new form of deferred sentence.
Source: New Sentences: Criminal Justice Act 2003, Sentencing Advisory Panel (020 7035 5158)
Links: Guidance (pdf)
Date: 2004-Dec
A report put forward radical proposals to increase the effectiveness of, and confidence in, alternatives to prison. It included a call for much greater community involvement in community-based sentences. It said that the early release of prisoners on electronic tagging schemes might be eroding public confidence in the criminal justice system.
Source: Crime, Courts and Confidence: Report of an independent inquiry into alternatives to prison, Esm e Fairbairn Foundation (020 7297 4700)
Links: Report (pdf) | RCP press release | Guardian report | Community Care report
Date: 2004-Nov
The government said (in response to draft sentencing guidelines) that that the length of time a convicted murderer should spend in prison before becoming eligible for parole (the 'tariff') should only be reduced by a guilty plea in limited circumstances.
Source: Press release 8 November 2004, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Home Office press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Nov
A study found there was insufficient evidence to suggest that restorative cautioning was more effective than traditional cautioning in terms of reducing re-offending rates. (In contrast to traditional cautions, restorative cautioning aims to encourage the offender to take responsibility for repairing the harm caused by their offence.)
Source: Aidan Wilcox, Richard Young and Carolyn Hoyle, Two-year Resanctioning Study: A comparison of restorative and traditional cautions, Online Report 57/04, Home Office (web publication only)
Links: Report (pdf) | Findings (pdf)
Date: 2004-Nov
Plans for a Management of Offenders and Sentencing Bill were included in the government s legislative programme for the Parliamentary year 2004-05 (Queen's Speech). The government said that the Bill would 're-balance' sentencing, by reinforcing rigorous and effective community punishments; build on major reforms already underway as a result of the Criminal Justice Act 2003; and help ensure that new advances in technology were better used to protect the public and victims of crime. The government said that it would also be publishing a draft Bill on youth justice to introduce better sentencing of juveniles with a sharper focus on preventing offending.
Source: House of Lords Hansard, Queen's Speech 23 November 2004, columns 1-4, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 25 November 2004, columns 246-330, TSO | Press release 23 November 2004, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Text of Speech | Lords Hansard | Commons Hansard | Home Office press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Nov
A report by a committee of MPs considered its new role in scrutinizing draft sentencing guidelines. It called for the withdrawal of guidelines which would mean that murderers who entered an early guilty plea could cut their time in prison by up to a third; and it said that those who committed crimes while drunk or under the influence of drugs should get heavier sentences. It said that there were circumstances in which wider debate within Parliament might be desirable on particular guidelines.
Source: Draft Sentencing Guidelines 1 and 2, Fifth Report (Session 2003-04), HC 1207, House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Nov
The government announced plans to expand the use of 'intermittent custody', which involved prisoners spending either weekends or weekdays in prison and the rest of the week in the community. The new sentence (piloted since January 2004) was aimed at cutting re-offending by reducing the negative impact of short custodial sentences - in particular loss of jobs and homes, and damage to family life.
Source: Press release 29 September 2004, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Home Office press release
Date: 2004-Sep
Draft guidelines were published on the new sentencing framework introduced by the Criminal Justice Act 2003, and on the general overarching principle of seriousness in sentencing offenders. It said that, in general terms, the seriousness of an offence ought to be determined by assessing the relative impacts of both culpability and harm.
Source: New Sentences: Criminal Justice Act 2003, Sentencing Advisory Panel (020 7035 5158)
Links: Guidelines (pdf) | SAP press release
Date: 2004-Sep
Draft guidelines provided a structured approach to the principle that the length of a custodial sentence should be reduced where an offender pleaded guilty at an early stage in the proceedings. It said that the primary purpose of the reduction was for 'system based' reasons: that is, to save the time and expense of a trial.
Source: Reduction in Sentence for a Guilty Plea, Sentencing Advisory Panel (020 7035 5158)
Links: Guidelines (pdf) | SAP press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Sep
Consultation began on the issues that faced sentencers when dealing with offences that had been committed in a domestic context - including whether the domestic context made an offence of violence more serious, and whether a different approach was justified in such cases.
Source: Consultation on Domestic Violence and Sentencing, Sentencing Advisory Panel (020 7035 5158)
Links: Consultation document (pdf) | SAP press release
Date: 2004-Jul
A report for the Church of England by criminal justice experts said that helping offenders face up to their crimes, and repair the harm caused to their victims, would not only ease the pressure on overcrowded prisons but provide a more effective means of reducing re-offending.
Source: Peter Sedgwick (ed.), Rethinking Sentencing: A contribution to the debate, Church of England, available from Church House Publishing (020 7898 1451)
Links: Report (pdf) | C of E press release
Date: 2004-Jun
A report said that community punishments had a poor reputation, and needed to be 'marketed' better if they were to win the backing of magistrates and the public.
Source: Kevin Money and Carola Hillenbrand, The Reputation of Alternatives to Prison: Building community and magistrate support, Centre for Organisation, Reputation and Relationships/Henley Management College, available from Rethinking Crime & Punishment (020 7297 4700)
Links: Summary (pdf) | RCP press release
Date: 2004-May
A report said that non-violent robberies should only attract a jail sentence where there were aggravating features.
Source: Robbery: The Panel's advice to the Sentencing Guidelines Council, Sentencing Advisory Panel (020 7035 5158)
Links: Report (pdf) | SAP press release
Date: 2004-May
The Sentencing Advisory Panel began consultation on sentences for 12 offences under the Sexual Offences Act, relating to sexual exploitation, prostitution and pornography.
Source: Consultation Paper on the Sexual Offences Act 2003: Exploitation offences, Sentencing Advisory Panel (020 7035 5158)
Links: Consultation document (Word file)
Date: 2004-Apr
The Sentencing Advisory Panel issued the first of two planned consultation papers on the offences under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, scheduled for implementation on 1 May 2004. It asked a number of questions about the relative seriousness of different sexual offences and the appropriate starting points for sentencing.
Source: Sentencing Guidelines on Sexual Offences: Consultation paper, Sentencing Advisory Panel (020 7035 5158)
Links: Consultation Paper (pdf) | SAP press release
Date: 2004-Feb
An evaluation was published of community service pathfinder projects set up by the probation service in 1999 (a complex series of interrelated projects set up to pilot specific elements of community punishment). The authors 'tentatively' concluded that projects focusing on skills accreditation produced the best results.
Source: Sue Rex, Loraine Gelsthorpe, Colin Roberts and Peter Jordan, Crime Reduction Programme: Evaluation of community service pathfinder projects - Final report 2002, Occasional Paper 87, Home Office (020 7273 2084)
Links: Paper (pdf) | Findings (pdf)
Date: 2004-Jan