AS Level Law
Machinery of Justice
Sentencing
AS Level Law
What you need to know and discuss:
•the need for a criminal justice system
•the main aims of punishment
•key concepts in effective punishment
•the current approach to sentencing of both adult
and young offenders
•the effectiveness of the system in achieving its aims
AS Level Law
Introduction
• 2 main reasons for criminal justice system:
 discourage anti-social conduct
 satisfy moral sense in society
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Aims of sentencing
• CJA 2003, s.142 identifies five purposes of sentencing:
 punishment of offenders
 crime reduction, including through deterrence
 reform and rehabilitation of offenders
 protection of the public
 reparation by offenders to those affected by
their offences
AS Level Law
Objective
Sentences available
Retribution (punishment) –
society’s revenge on the
offender
Custodial sentences have a significant
retributive element. Also serve public
protection by incapacitating the
offender
Deterrence – aim to deter
offender from re-offending
(individual) and others by
example (general)
Again, custodial sentences are seen as
having a strong deterrent element –
questionable?
Rehabilitation – discourage reoffending by rehabilitating
offender into mainstream
society
Rehabilitation is a major objective of
community sentences
Reparation (restorative justice) –
offender makes good the harm
they have caused
Again, reparation is largely concerned with
community sentences (e.g. unpaid work
requirement, activity requirement)
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Key concepts in effective punishment
• proportionality (punishment fits the crime)
• certainty (enhances deterrence)
• publicity (again, deterrence)
• promptness (again, deterrence)
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Sentencing in the English courts
• major reforms in CJA 2003 following Halliday Report
• adult offenders - three options:
 custodial (see s.152 and s.153)
 community (new generic Community Order, allowing
courts to mix and match different requirements, e.g.
unpaid work, drug rehabilitation, alcohol treatment
etc - see s.147, 148 and 177)
 fines (see s.164)
AS Level Law
Also new types of sentence:
• ‘Custody Plus’ – short prison sentence followed by
community supervision – see s.181
• ‘Custody Minus’ (suspended sentence) – Community
supervision with custodial element suspended
(activated if community requirements not met) – see
s.189
• ‘Intermittent Custody’ – Community supervision with
short periods of custody - preserve family and community
ties (currently 43% of convicted prisoners and 48% of
remand prisoners lose contact with their families, and
125,000 children per year have a parent imprisoned)
AS Level Law
Minimum, Indeterminate, and Extended Sentences:
• Minimum – 3rd Class A Drug Trafficking (7 yrs –
PCC(S)A 2000, s. 110), 3rd Domestic Burglary (3 yrs
– PCC(S)A 2000, S.111), unlawful possession of
firearm (5 yrs – CJA 2003, s.287)
• criticised for limiting judge’s discretion and being
contrary to proportionality - highlights conflict
between policy and principle - see R v Offen and
others [2000]
AS Level Law
• Indeterminate – where convicted of a serious offence,
and significant risk of further serious offences, court
must either: (a) impose life sentence if available for that
offence; or (b) impose a sentence of imprisonment for
public protection (a sentence of imprisonment for an
indeterminate period) – CJA 2003, s.225 – justifiable?
• Extended – where convicted of a ‘specified’ violent or
sexual offence (other than a ‘serious’ offence) and
significant risk of serious harm to the public from
further such offences, court must impose an extended
sentence – appropriate custodial term plus max 5 yrs
(violent) or 8 yrs (sexual) – CJA 2003, s.227
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• miscellaneous sanctions - e.g. Confiscation
Orders, Compensation Orders
• special provision for young offenders:
 Pre-court orders: Acceptable Behaviour Contracts,
Anti-Social Behaviour Orders, Local Child Curfews,
Child Safety Orders – also Reprimands and Final
Warnings
 Court orders: Detention & Training; Supervision;
Community Rehabilitation; Community Punishment;
Action Plan; Attendance Centre; Referral; Reparation;
Curfew; Drug Treatment & Testing; Parenting
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 Many of these orders require the offender to
work with the local Youth Offending Team (Police,
Probation, Social Services, Education reps etc)
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The effectiveness of the system
• ‘Justice Gap’ – in 2000-1, 5.17 million recorded crimes,
but only 19.8% resulted in a conviction
• custody - 58% re-convicted within 2 years
• weaknesses in rehabiltation? Poor support on release?
• community sentences - no more effective but much
cheaper + lower social costs
• focus too much on consequences of crime and not
enough on causes – link between offending and
social exclusion?
AS Level Law
• Public confidence? See Confidence in the
Criminal Justice System: Findings from the
2000 British Crime Survey
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Conclusion
• sentencing (type & severity) should be closely linked
to fault
• must maintain public confidence while sentencing
appropriately in each case - difficult balance
• custody sometimes the only option, but better use
should be made of community alternatives - see
Home Affairs Select Committee report (1998)
• proposed reforms a move in the right direction?
AS Level Law
Revision Headings:
C&P - Intro (need for system)
C&P - Aims of Punishment
C&P - Key Concepts
C&P - Custodial Sentences
C&P - Other Sentences
C&P - Minimum and Mandatory Sentences
C&P - Effectiveness of System
C&P - Reforms
C&P - Conclusion
AS Level Law
Test Questions:
Using your cards, you should now be able to write a short
paragraph in response to each of the following questions:
•Why do we need a criminal justice system?
•What aims and objectives may a judge be pursuing when sentencing an
offender?
•What elements should be present in an effective system of
punishment?
•Describe the approach to sentencing under the Powers of Criminal
Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 and Criminal Justice Act 2003.
•Discuss the use of minimum and mandatory sentences.
•How effective is the system in achieving its aims?
AS Level Law
Useful Websites:
 Criminal Justice System website (a portal site with links to other relevant
sites)
 Youth Justice Board
 The Home Office
 HM Prison Service
 The Halliday Report
 ‘Justice for All’: Responses to Auld and Halliday
 British Crime Survey 2000
 Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000
 Criminal Justice Act 2003
 ‘Narrowing the Justice Gap’
 ‘Reducing Re-offending’ (Social Exclusion Unit)