News type:
Articles and blog posts

News topic:
Council membership

Published on:

20 February 2015

By Professor Paul Wiles

With my tenure as analysis and research advisor due to end shortly, the Sentencing Council is currently looking for someone to take on the role for the next three years. It’s an opportunity I would wholeheartedly recommend. I have found it tremendously stimulating: the role is not only interesting, but is also influential within the Council. It involves advising on and overseeing a broad range of analysis and research that feeds immediately into the development of new sentencing guidelines, so that it directly influences how judges sentence. Recently it has meant helping to design and implement a new analytical strategy for the Council and steering its direction. It has also involved being the expert voice on empirical evidence, ensuring that analytical findings are properly understood.  I have also brought to bear international research and relevant non-sentencing research to debates so the bigger picture is seen and taken into account. In addition, the role has meant drawing on my contacts in the research community and my experience of working in government to ensure particular expertise can be tapped into and the wider policy context can be taken account of. The Council comprises members from a wide range of parts of the criminal justice system and has therefore given me the opportunity to work with some of the best judicial minds as well as senior police, CPS and academic representatives to name but a few.

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