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
New judicial appointment to the Sentencing Council
1 September 2019A new judicial member has been appointed to the Sentencing Council by the Lord Chief Justice, with the agreement of Read More
Public confidence in sentencing and the criminal justice system
7 August 2019We have published a report of research carried out to help the Council better understand public attitudes towards, and understanding Read More
New General Guideline and Expanded Explanations published by Sentencing Council
24 July 2019Judges and magistrates in criminal courts across England and Wales will have a new General guideline for sentencing offences that Read More