x

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.

Sentencing Council website survey

Please let us know your views on our website by completing our website survey.

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.

How can we help you?

Judges & criminal justice professionals

guidelines and other publications, consultations, data, analysis, youth sentencing and more

Members of the public

sentencing and guidelines explained, information for victims, have your say, frequently asked questions, news and more

Members of the media

news, press releases, sentencing and guidelines explained, Council members, FAQs and more

Researchers and academics

research, data, analysis, trends, statistics, guidelines and publications, our work and more

Latest from the Sentencing Council

Law Commission’s proposals to simplify sentencing – Council response

27 July 2017

In response to the Law Commission’s proposals to simplify the law relating to sentencing, Sentencing Council chairman Lord Justice Treacy Read More

Sentencing guidelines and offences involving corrosive substances

26 July 2017

Reports of assaults and robberies involving the use of acid or other corrosive substances have increased in profile recently, with Read More

Burglary sentencing guideline assessment published

13 July 2017

The Council has published an assessment of its burglary sentencing guideline which came into force in January 2012. It follows Read More

tweets

Help us improve our website

Please let us know your views and suggestions by completing our new website survey.