The Sentencing Council for England and Wales promotes greater consistency in sentencing, whilst maintaining the independence of the judiciary. The Council produces guidelines on sentencing for the judiciary and criminal justice professionals and aims to increase public understanding of sentencing.
Do not retain this copy. Only the online version of a guideline is guaranteed to be up to date.
How offenders are sentenced in England and Wales
For an overview of how offenders are sentenced, take a look at this short video which gives the basics on what kinds of sentence there are and how judges and magistrates decide what sentence to give.
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Latest from the Sentencing Council
Criminal justice statistics – new resource
26 November 2018We have published a new data resource for academics, researchers and others with an interest in the criminal justice system. Read More
Sentencing Council launches online sentencing guidelines for use in the Crown Court
8 November 2018From today, sentencing guidelines used in the Crown Court are available online for judges, legal practitioners and other visitors to Read More
Council vacancies: police and victims’ roles
6 November 2018The Sentencing Council is looking to appoint two Non-Judicial members with experience of the criminal justice system, specifically in the Read More