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
Revisions and corrections to the digital guidelines
31 May 2019The Council has established a new process for recording minor revisions and corrections that are made to the digital guidelines. Read More
Notice for all magistrates and district judges: online data collection in magistrates’ courts, 23 April to 30 September
8 May 2019Between 23 April and 30 September 2019, the Sentencing Council is asking magistrates and district judges to fill out an Read More
Sentencing offenders with mental health conditions or disorders – consultation launched on providing additional information in sentencing guidelines
9 April 2019The Sentencing Council has launched a consultation on its proposed guideline on sentencing offenders with mental health conditions or disorders. Read More