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EPQ - MINDMAP 3 SENTENCING - Coggle Diagram
EPQ - MINDMAP 3 SENTENCING
Sentencing
There are many types of sentence that a judge or magistrate can pass – depending on the facts of a crime and its seriousness.
These include the most common types of sentences such as fines which are given for lower level offences, up to life sentences in prison for the most serious crimes.
The judge or magistrate will decide the type and length of sentence depending upon the facts of each individual case, referring to sentencing guidelines and the law.
Discharges
Discharges are given for the least serious offences such as very minor thefts. The court may give an absolute discharge, which means it decides not to impose a punishment because the experience of going to court has been punishment enough. However, the offender still gets a criminal record.
A conditional discharge can also be given – this means that if the offender commits another crime, they can be sentenced for the first offence and the new one.
In 2017, 53,104 defendants were given a discharge, representing four per cent of all these sentences.
Fines
Fines are the most common type of sentence given. That’s because they are given for lower level crimes that are common such as minor driving offences or theft. The amount is set by the court after considering the seriousness of the offence and how much money the offender can pay. Fines can be given to organisations or companies as well as people.
The maximum fine allowed in both magistrates’ courts and the Crown Court is unlimited (apart from offences sentenced in the magistrates’ court which were committed before 12 March 2015, where the maximum fine allowed is £5,000).
In 2017, 75 per cent of all offenders received a fine, a total of 896,611 offenders.
Community sentences
A community sentence combines punishment with activities carried out in the community. It can include one or more of 13 requirements on an offender. This could be carrying out up to 300 hours of unpaid work, which might include things like removing graffiti or clearing overgrown areas.
It could also mean the offender is required to have alcohol or drug treatment – this aims to tackle the reasons why they have committed crimes. Offenders might also be required to keep to a curfew, which aims to keep them out of trouble.
Overall, the requirements aim to punish offenders, to change offenders’ behaviour so they don’t commit crime in the future, and to make amends to the victim of the crime or the local community.
CS
This can vary between the following:
Unpaid work for up to 300 hours
Rehabilitation activity requirement (RAR) undertaking activities as instructed
Undertaking a particular programme to help change offending behaviour
Prohibition from doing particular activities
Adherence to a curfew, so the offender is required to be in a particular place at certain times
An exclusion requirement, so that the offender is not allowed to go to particular places
A residence requirement so that the offender is obliged to live at a particular address
A foreign travel prohibition requirement
Mental health treatment with the offender’s consent
A drug rehabilitation requirement with the offender’s consent
An alcohol treatment requirement with the offender’s consent
An alcohol abstinence and monitoring requirement with the offender’s consent
Where offenders are under 25, they may be required to go to a centre at specific times over the course of their sentence.
Custodial sentences
Custodial sentences are reserved for the most serious offences and are imposed when the offence committed is “so serious that neither a fine alone nor a community sentence can be justified for the offence” (section 152(2) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003).
A custodial sentence may also be imposed where the court believes it is necessary to protect the public. The length of the sentence depends on the the seriousness of the offence and the maximum penalty for the crime allowed by law.
There are also some minimum sentences that have been introduced by Parliament for some serious offences unless there are exceptional circumstances:
a minimum sentence of seven years’ imprisonment for a third Class A drug trafficking offence and three years for a third domestic burglary;
a minimum sentence of five years for certain firearms offences; and
a minimum sentence of five years for using someone to mind a weapon.
Suspended sentences
When a court imposes a custodial sentence of between 14 days and two years (or six months in the magistrates’ court), the court may choose to suspend the sentence for up to two years. This means that the offender does not go to prison immediately, but is given the chance to stay out of trouble and to comply with up to 12 requirements set by the court.
These include:
doing unpaid work
being subject to a curfew
undertaking a treatment programme for alcohol or drugs
being subject to a rehabilitation requirement
Determinate prison sentences
A determinate prison sentence is where the court sets a fixed length for the prison sentence and is the most common type of prison sentence. For example, an offender may be sentenced to four years in prison. This is the maximum period of time the offender could spend in prison. However, the offender will not necessarily spend the whole of this time in prison.
The rules governing when a prisoner is released vary depending on the length of the sentence and when the offence was committed. For sentences under two years the rules changed on 1 February 2015.
Life sentences
When a court passes a life sentence it means that the offender will be subject to that sentence for the rest of their life. When passing a life sentence, a judge must specify the minimum term (sometimes called the tariff) an offender must spend in prison before becoming eligible to apply for parole. The only exception to this is when a life sentence is passed with a ‘whole life order’ meaning that such an offender will spend the rest of their life in prison. A life sentence always lasts for life whatever the length of the minimum term.