A report examined the intermittent custody pilot, introduced in 2003 as a punishment for offenders who had committed serious offences, but who did not present such a risk to the public as to require immediate full-time custody. Judges who were interviewed were enthusiastic advocates of the disposal for cases involving serious one-off offences committed by offenders with jobs or childcare responsibilities.
Source: Clarissa Penfold, Gillian Hunter and Mike Hough, The Intermittent Custody Pilot: A Descriptive Study, Online Report 23/06, Home Office (web publication only)
Date: 2006-Dec
The government announced that it intend to bring forward legislative proposals to introduce robust new indeterminate and extended public protection sentences that would in future put an end to automatic 50 per cent. remission for dangerous violent and sexual offenders.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 5 December 2006, column 11WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard
Date: 2006-Dec
A report by a committee of MSPs welcomed a Bill to end the existing system of automatic - and often unconditional - early release of offenders, and to ensure that offenders were subject to restrictions for their entire sentence. But it called for further clarification on a number of issues, particularly relating to the management of sentences.
Source: Stage 1 Report on the Custodial Sentences and Weapons (Scotland) Bill, 16th Report 2006, SP Paper 701, Scottish Parliament Justice 2 Committee, available from Blackwell's Bookshop (0131 622 8283)
Links: Report | SP press release
Date: 2006-Dec
The government began consultation on sentencing reform. Options included giving judges more discretion to calculate (and more clearly express) how long dangerous offenders would spend in prison; and making it possible for some prisoners who presented a serious risk to the public to be held in prison beyond the automatic halfway release point.
Source: Making Sentencing Clearer, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Consultation document | Home Office press release | Nacro press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Times report
Date: 2006-Nov
An article examined the emergence of so-called two and three strikes sentencing policies in the United States of America and the United Kingdom. It said that the relationship between symbolism and policy substance was much closer in some US states than was the case in the UK.
Source: Trevor Jones and Tim Newburn, 'Three strikes and you re out: exploring symbol and substance in American and British crime control politics', British Journal of Criminology, Volume 46 Number 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Sep
A new book examined the effectiveness of intensive community programmes for both young and adult offenders. It stressed the need for greater realism and further evidential support if such programmes were to gain long-term credibility.
Source: Robin Moore, Emily Gray, Colin Roberts, Emily Taylor and Simon Merrington, Managing Persistent and Serious Offenders in the Community: Intensive community programmes in theory and practice, Willan Publishing (01884 840337)
Links: Summary
Date: 2006-Jul
The Attorney General published statistics relating to those cases (in the period 2001-2005) which he had referred to the Court of Appeal in order to increase "unduly lenient" sentences received for serious criminal offences. He reportedly criticized judges who passed insufficiently harsh sentences, particularly on criminals found guilty of sex offences against children. Judges responded by pointing out that a successful appeal to a higher court did not of itself provide a basis for criticism of a trial judge. Shortly afterwards the Home Secretary called for a review of the sentence passed on a convicted paedophile: but the Attorney General was reported to be "irritated" by political interference in sentencing decisions. The Lord Chancellor warned politicians not to criticize individual judges for their decisions: but he announced a review of sentencing policy.
Source: The Guardian, 12 June 2006 | Press release 11 June 2006, Judicial Communications Office (020 7073 4852) | The Guardian, 13 June 2006 | The Guardian, 15 June 2006
Links: Guardian report (1) | JCO press release | Times report | Guardian report (2) | Guardian report (3) | PMOS statement
Date: 2006-Jun
An official advisory body began consultation on guidelines to assist sentencers to deal with more than 50 offences contained in the Sexual Offences Act 2003. It said that date rape and rape within marriage were as serious as attacks carried out by strangers. Rapists would receive lighter jail sentences if their victims withdrew their consent to sex at the last minute.
Source: Sexual Offences Act 2003: Consultation Guideline, Sentencing Guidelines Council (020 7411 5551)
Links: Consultation document | SAP advice note | SAP press release | Times report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Jun
An official advisory body published draft guidelines on sentencing in cases of domestic violence. Offences committed in a domestic context should be regarded as being no less serious than offences committed in a non-domestic context. But those found guilty of violence could get a community order or suspended sentence where they showed "genuine signs of remorse", or where both partners wanted to stay together.
Source: Overarching Principles: Domestic Violence - Consultation guideline, Sentencing Advisory Panel (020 7035 5158)
Links: Guidelines | SAP press release | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Apr
An audit report said that electronic monitoring of adult offenders provided value for money and a cost-effective alternative to custody for low-risk offenders.
Source: The Electronic Monitoring of Adult Offenders, HC 800 (Session 2005-06), National Audit Office, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | NAO press release
Date: 2006-Feb
An article summarized the findings of a qualitative study of pre-sentence reports in Scotland. Policy development had been predicated on the view that higher-quality reports would help to 'sell' community penalties to the principal consumers of such reports (judges). The research suggested that, in the daily use and interpretation of reports, this quality-led policy agenda was defeated by a discourse of judicial 'ownership' of sentencing.
Source: Cyrus Tata, Nicola Burns, Simon Halliday, Neil Hutton and Fergus McNeill, 'Assisting and advising the sentencing decision process: the pursuit of 'quality' in pre-sentence reports', British Journal of Criminology, Volume 48 Number 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Jan