An article examined differential outcomes for people from different ethnic groups in the criminal justice system. Members of minority-ethnic groups were likely to receive, on average, more severe sentences than white offenders assessed as presenting similar levels of risk and criminogenic need.
Source: Peter Raynor and Sam Lewis, ' Risk need assessment, sentencing and minority ethnic offenders in Britain', British Journal of Social Work, Volume 41 Number 7
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Oct
The coalition government announced (in a series of amendments to its own Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill) that mandatory life sentences would be given to anyone convicted of a second serious sexual or violent crime in England and Wales. A new offence for young people aged 16-17 of threatening with a knife would also carry a mandatory custodial term.
Source: Consolidated amendments to Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, 27 October 2011
Links: Amendments | Conservative Party press release | Law Society press release | Victim Support press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2011-Oct
A new book examined the principles underlying mitigation and aggravation in the sentencing of offenders.
Source: Julian Roberts (ed.), Mitigation and Aggravation at Sentencing, Cambridge University Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Oct
An article examined the development of community sentence orders since 1988. Policy development had been 'fragmentary' and the orders were expected to achieve a variety of objectives, many of which moved in the direction of a more punitive penal culture.
Source: George Mair, 'The community order in England and Wales: policy and practice', Probation Journal, Volume 58 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Sep
A report said that rigorous community sentences were more effective than short prison terms in stopping persistent, low-level offending.
Source: Community or Custody?, Make Justice Work
Links: Report | MJW press release | Victim Support press release | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Sep
A report examined the use of community sentences as a mechanism for reducing reliance on custody in England and Wales since the late 1990s. It said that there were 'inherent limits' to what community sentences could achieve beyond relatively minor adjustments to the numbers in custody.
Source: Helen Mills, Community Sentences: A solution to penal excess?, Centre for Crime and Justice Studies (King's College London)
Links: Report | CCJS press release
Date: 2011-Aug
A new book examined the relationship between sentencing and the legitimacy of punishment. It said that there was an increasing gap between what was perceived as legitimate punishment and the sentencing decisions of the criminal courts. It considered how sentencing could be developed within a more socially inclusive framework for the delivery of trial justice.
Source: Ralph Henham, Sentencing and the Legitimacy of Trial Justice, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Aug
A paper examined the sentencing of young adults, and the case for considering maturity as part of the sentencing process. It recommended the holding of a pilot under which young adults aged 18-20 would be sentenced under juvenile law where appropriate; and that lack of maturity should be seen as a factor reflecting reduced culpability, and a factor reflecting personal mitigation, in the development of sentencing guidelines.
Source: Jon Collins and Gemma Lousley, Sentencing Young Adults: Getting It Right, Transition to Adulthood Alliance
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Jul
A think-tank report said that redirecting resources away from incarcerating offenders in prison into community-based alternatives that tackled the causes of crime was one way of more effectively rehabilitating offenders.
Source: Tess Lanning, Ian Loader, and Rick Muir, Redesigning Justice: Reducing crime through justice reinvestment, Institute for Public Policy Research
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Jul
A report summarized research into the use of 'intensive alternatives to custody' (IAC) pilots, and explored the lessons that could be learnt from them.
Source: Sarah Hansbury (ed.), Evaluation of the Intensive Alternatives to Custody Pilots, Research Summary 3/11, Ministry of Justice
Links: Report
Notes: The IAC pilot programme ran from 2008-09 to 2010-11: it tested the use of intensive community orders designed to divert offenders from short-term custodial sentences.
Date: 2011-Jul
A briefing paper provided comparative research on sentencing guidelines mechanisms in 16 jurisdictions in Europe and other developed countries.
Source: Comparative Research into Sentencing Guidelines Mechanisms, Briefing Note 66/11, Northern Ireland Assembly
Links: Briefing
Date: 2011-Jun
The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill was published, and given a second reading. The Bill (mainly relating to England and Wales) was designed to cut access to legal aid, introduce tougher punishment for certain crimes (such as knife crime), promote a 'rehabilitation revolution' to prevent offenders committing further crime, and ensure that the sentencing framework was 'sensible and workable'. Plans to give prisoners who pleaded guilty at the earliest stage a reduction of up to 50 per cent on their sentences were dropped. The coalition government simultaneously published its response to:
• A report by a committee of MPs on legal aid reform.
• A consultation on legal aid reform.
• A consultation (Green Paper) on reforming the criminal justice system.
Source: Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, Ministry of Justice, TSO | Government Response to Justice Committee s Third Report of Session 2010/11: The Government s Proposed Reform of Legal Aid, Cm 8111, Ministry of Justice, TSO | Reform of Legal Aid in England and Wales: The Government Response, Cm 8072, Ministry of Justice, TSO | Breaking the Cycle: Government Response, Cm 8070, Ministry of Justice, TSO
Links: Bill | Explanatory notes | Hansard (1) | Hansard (2) | Downing Street press release | MOJ press release | Response to MPs | Response to legal aid consultation | Response to criminal justice consultation | HOC research brief | Bar Council press release | Citizens Advice press release | ILPA briefing | JUSTICE press release | Justice for All press release | Labour Party press release | LAG press release | LCF press release | Liberty press release | NFM press release | Resolution press release | Scope press release | SCYJ briefing | Shelter press release | SOFJ press release | Unite press release | BBC report | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2) | Law Gazette report | Telegraph report
Notes: MPs Report (March 2011) | Consultation document (legal aid) (November 2010) | Consultation document (criminal justice) (December 2010)
Date: 2011-Jun
The government published an annual compendium of reoffending statistics and analysis, focusing on the relative effectiveness of different types of sentence. Adults sentenced to 2-4 years in custody had lower reoffending rates than those given 1-2 year custodial sentences – the proven reoffending rate in 2008 was 7.2 percentage points lower for those serving longer in custody.
Source: 2011 Compendium of Re-Offending Statistics and Analysis, Ministry of Justice
Links: Report | MOJ press release | Guardian report
Date: 2011-May
An article explored public reaction to mitigating factors in sentencing decisions, and the circumstances that might justify imposition of a community penalty even though the custodial threshold had been crossed. Significant support emerged for a wide range of mitigating factors at sentencing. Significant proportions of respondents also found the alternative community penalty acceptable, even for relatively serious offences.
Source: Julian Roberts and Mike Hough, 'Custody or community? Exploring the boundaries of public punitiveness in England and Wales', Criminology and Criminal Justice, Volume 11 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Apr
An official advisory body began consultation on proposed new guidelines for judges and magistrates for the sentencing of drugs offenders. It proposed tougher sentences for those running large-scale smuggling and supply operations.
Source: Drug Offences Guideline: Public Consultation, Sentencing Council
Links: Consultation document | Sentencing Council press release
Date: 2011-Mar