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
Sentencing Council Annual Report 2018/19
11 July 2019The Sentencing Council has published its ninth annual report outlining activities from April 2018 to March 2019. The report is Read More
Reappointment of Council member Rosina Cottage QC
4 July 2019We are pleased that the Secretary of State for Justice has announced the reappointment of Rosina Cottage QC to the Read More
New definitive guidelines for arson and criminal damage offences published today
3 July 2019Today we have published new sentencing guidelines for arson and criminal damage offences that will see the courts take full Read More