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The Sentencing Council has published a simplified version of the SentencingACE tool. 

The Sentencing Council has today published an evaluation of the public order offences guidelines.

The Sentencing Council has launched a consultation on a proposed guideline for using violence to secure entry (section 6 of the Criminal Law Act 1977).

The independent Sentencing Council is consulting on a proposed new guideline for the offence of using violence to secure entry.  

The Sentencing Council has published a statistical summary and data tables, explaining current sentencing practice for the offence of using violence to secure entry. 

The Sentencing Council has published its definitive guideline for sentencing hare coursing offences.

The Sentencing Council has published a new guideline for offences related to hare coursing which will come into effect on 1 June 2026.

The Council has added two new calculators to its website. The calculators will assist judges and magistrates to calculate guilty plea reductions in custody cases.  

The Sentencing Council has published data tables, explaining current sentencing practice for hare coursing offences.

This report will contain findings from the evaluation of the Sentencing Council's public order offences guidelines.

New judicial and non-judicial appointments announced to Sentencing Council. 

The Sentencing Act 2026, which received Royal Assent on 22 January, makes a number of important changes to the sentencing regime in England and Wales, some of which will have implications for sentencers.  

The Council has launched a consultation on updates to sentencing guidelines for the offence of assault on a police constable. 

Sentencing Council consults on proposed revisions to the sentencing guideline for assault on a police constable in response to change in CPS charging practice

The Sentencing Council has published a statistical summary and data tables, explaining current sentencing practice for the offences of assault on a police constable and assault on an emergency worker.

The Council has published a research review of the overarching guideline for sentencing offenders with mental disorders, developmental disorders, or neurological impairments, which came into force on 1 October 2020. 

This report will contain findings from the research review of the Sentencing Council’s overarching guideline for sentencing offenders with mental disorders, developmental disorders, or neurological impairments. 

The Sentencing Council has launched a consultation on a package of proposed sentencing guidelines for housing offences.

The independent Sentencing Council has launched a 12-week public consultation on a package of guidelines covering housing offences.  

The Sentencing Council has published a statistical summary and data tables, explaining current sentencing practice for housing offences.

The Sentencing Council has today published two evaluations: one looking at the four guidelines covering manslaughter offences and the second looking at guidelines covering seven breaches of court orders.

The Sentencing Council’s December 2025 roundup summarises some of the latest analysis and research work carried out or commissioned by the Council to inform the development and evaluation of sentencing guidelines.

Our annual consultation on miscellaneous amendments to sentencing guidelines opens today. The Council is proposing a series of changes that are designed to bring greater clarity and consistency to guidelines and reflect developments in legislation and case law.

On 2 September 2025 the Sentencing Bill 2025 was introduced into Parliament. The Bill proposes to change the current process by which the Sentencing Council issues definitive guidelines. If passed, the new provisions would require the Council to seek the approval of both the Lord Chancellor and the Lady Chief Justice prior to publishing definitive guidelines.

The Council has agreed to make two minor amendments to the Imposition of community and custodial sentences guideline. These amendments do not affect the meaning of these lines in any way and are being made solely to make these lines clearer.

The Honourable Mrs Justice May has been appointed as Chair of the Sentencing Council with effect from 6 October 2025 for a period of three years.  She is to be sworn in as a judge of the Court of Appeal on 13 November 2025.

We are pleased to announce that Lord Justice Andrew Edis has been appointed as Vice Chairman of the Sentencing Council, with effect from 1 August 2025.

The Sentencing Council's annual report for 2024/25 documents the Council’s achievements of the year 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 in the context of the objectives set in our five-year strategy, Sentencing Council strategic objectives 2021-2026.

Coming into effect today, 1 July 2025, is a package of new and revised guidance on ancillary orders available on conviction and a revised careless driving sentencing guideline. We are introducing new guidance for six ancillary orders, changing existing guidance to make the information clearer and more consistent, and making guidance on specific ancillary orders...

The Council has today published a response to the 2024 consultation on proposed changes to improve the consistency, presentation and accessibility of our guidance on ancillary orders available on conviction. Following this consultation, we will be bringing into effect on 1 July 2025: amendments to existing guidance on ancillary orders to make the information clearer...

The Sentencing Guidelines (Pre-sentence Reports) Bill 2025 has now completed its passage through Parliament, and we anticipate that it will shortly receive Royal Assent...

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our chairman Lord Justice William Davis on Saturday 7 June 2025, aged 70.

The Council has published our response to the fourth annual miscellaneous amendments consultation along with details of amendments we will be making to guidelines. The changes apply to guidelines in both the Crown Court and magistrates’ courts and will come into force on 1 June 2025. The consultation considered potential changes to guidelines arising from...

The Council has published an evaluation of the intimidatory offences definitive guidelines that came into effect on 1 October 2018 and cover: a combined guideline covering the offences of harassment, stalking and racially or religiously aggravated harassment/stalking a combined guideline covering the offences of harassment (putting people in fear of violence), stalking (involving fear of...

The Independent Sentencing Review is a detailed and important piece of work. There are a number of recommendations that will require careful consideration

This report will contain findings from the evaluation of the Sentencing Council's intimidatory offences guidelines. This evaluation includes analysis of data from a data collection exercise which was undertaken in magistrates' courts in England and Wales before and after the definitive guidelines came into force in October 2018. Sentencers were asked to complete a survey...

We are pleased that the Lord Chancellor has announced the reappointment of Richard Wright KC to the Sentencing Council for three years. Richard was appointed to the Council on 1 August 2022 with specific responsibility to represent criminal defence.

The Council’s definitive guidelines for blackmail and kidnap and false imprisonment offences come into effect on 1 April along with a package of changes to motoring related guidelines, including new guidelines for aggravated vehicle taking offences and an overarching guideline for driving disqualification. The Council has delayed the implementation of the revised guideline, Imposition of...

The Sentencing Council remains of the view that its guideline, Imposition of community and custodial sentences, as drafted is necessary and appropriate. The Lord Chancellor and the Chairman of the Sentencing Council met this morning..

The Sentencing Council has written to the Lord Chancellor in response to her letter of 20 March 2025 relating to the publication of the revised Imposition of community and custodial sentences guideline.

The Sentencing Council has written to the Lord Chancellor in response to her letter of 6 March 2025 relating to the publication of the revised Imposition of community and custodial sentences guideline.

One of the purposes of the revised Imposition of community and custodial sentences guideline is to make sure that the courts have the most comprehensive information available...

The Council has published a significantly revised version of the Imposition of community and custodial sentences guideline. The Imposition guideline sets out the guidance that magistrates and judges must follow when imposing community orders and custodial sentences, including deciding whether a custodial sentence can be suspended. It has been developed through public consultation and comes...

The independent Sentencing Council has today published a significantly revised version of the Imposition of community and custodial sentences guideline. The guideline sets out the principles that magistrates and judges must follow when imposing community orders and custodial sentences, including deciding whether a custodial sentence can be suspended. It has been developed through public consultation...

The Council has published sentencing guidelines for offenders convicted of motoring offences committed while driving vehicles without the owner’s consent. The guidelines will come into effect on 1 April and cover four aggravated vehicle taking offences: Aggravated vehicle taking – death caused Aggravated vehicle taking – injury caused Aggravated vehicle taking – dangerous driving Aggravated...

Sentencing guidelines for offenders convicted of motoring offences committed while driving vehicles without the owner’s consent were published by the independent Sentencing Council today. The guidelines cover four aggravated vehicle taking offences, which would apply when offenders have driven dangerously or caused death, injury or damage to property while, for example, driving a stolen vehicle...

The Sentencing Council has published data tables showing current sentencing practice for aggravated vehicle taking and other motoring related matters. This is in preparation for the launch of the Council’s definitive guidelines on aggravated vehicle taking offences, disqualification and other motoring related matters which will be published tomorrow (Wednesday 19th February).

The Council has published two new guidelines for sentencing offenders convicted of: blackmail, and kidnap or false imprisonment The new guidelines are the first for these serious offences. They have been developed through consultation to help judges sentence the wide range of offending covered by cases of blackmail, kidnap or false imprisonment. The new guidelines...

The independent Sentencing Council has today published two new guidelines for sentencing offenders convicted of blackmail, kidnap or false imprisonment. The new guidelines are the first for these offences. They have been developed through consultation to help judges sentence the wide range of offending covered by cases of blackmail, kidnap or false imprisonment. The first...

The Sentencing Council has published data tables showing current sentencing practice for kidnap, false imprisonment and blackmail offences. This is in preparation for the launch of the Council’s definitive kidnap, false imprisonment and blackmail offences guidelines, which will be published tomorrow (Wednesday 12th February).

The Council has opened a consultation on a proposed new guideline for sentencing illegal activities associated with hare coursing. The purpose of the guideline is to help the courts take a consistent approach to sentencing offences associated with hare coursing and bring together the full range of sentencing powers and ancillary orders available to them....

The independent Sentencing Council is consulting on a proposed new guideline for sentencing illegal activities associated with hare coursing. The purpose of the guideline is to help the courts take a consistent approach to sentencing these offences and bring together the full range of sentencing powers and ancillary orders available to them. The proposed guideline...

The Sentencing Council has published a statistical summary and data tables, explaining current sentencing practice for hare coursing offences. This is in preparation for the launch of the Council’s consultation on the draft Hare coursing guideline, which will be published tomorrow (Wednesday 22 January).

Leading experts in the field of sentencing gathered to explore important and current sentencing-related issues at a seminar jointly hosted by the Sentencing Council, Sentencing Academy and The City Law School on Friday 10 January...

Today we submitted the Sentencing Council’s evidence in response to the call for evidence issued by the Independent Sentencing Review 2024-2025

Strangulation or suffocation was established as a specific offence under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. It was introduced, along with its racially or religiously motivated version, as part of the government’s Violence Against Women and Girls strategy and came into force on 7 June 2022. On 17 December 2024, the Council published a guideline to...

The Council has today published a new guideline for judges and magistrates sentencing strangulation and suffocation offences in England and Wales. We have also published the Council’s response to our public consultation on the draft guideline. The offence of strangulation or suffocation and its racially or religiously aggravated version are very serious offences that are...

The independent Sentencing Council has today published a new guideline for judges and magistrates sentencing strangulation and suffocation offences in England and Wales. The offence of strangulation or suffocation and its racially or religiously aggravated version are very serious offences that are highly dangerous to victims. The offences were created by the Domestic Abuse Act...

The Sentencing Council has published data tables showing current sentencing practice for strangulation and suffocation offences. This is in preparation for the launch of the Council’s definitive strangulation and suffocation offences guideline, which will be published tomorrow (Tuesday 17th December 2024).

We have published the Council's response to an independent research review of the guideline for sentencing offences committed within a context of domestic abuse.

This report will contain findings from a research review that explores sentencers’ understanding, interpretation, implementation, application and thoughts about the Sentencing Council’s overarching guideline on domestic abuse, as well as the impact of the presence of domestic abuse on the sentence. The review draws on analysis of data from 12 data collection exercises undertaken in...

The Council is looking to appoint two non-judicial members with either recent relevant or current experience of academic research into criminology or criminal law or recent relevant or current expertise in probation or the rehabilitation of offenders

The Sentencing Council has published a review of existing research looking at the effectiveness of sentencing. We commissioned the review from an independent academic to further the Council’s understanding of the effectiveness of sentencing options. It considers previously published research to look at the ways in which sentencing may or may not be effective in...

We are seeking views on proposals that aim to improve the consistency, accessibility and presentation of our guidance on ancillary orders available on conviction. The consultation covers 28 ancillary orders – for six of these, the Council is proposing new guidance: animal destruction orders; forfeiture of equipment used in animal welfare offences; parenting orders –...

We have published our annual report for 2023/24. The report is Lord Justice William Davis’s second as Chairman and documents the Council’s achievements of the year 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024...

The Council’s fourth annual consultation on miscellaneous amendments to guidelines is now open. We are proposing a series of changes designed to bring greater clarity and consistency to guidelines and reflect developments in legislation. The proposals include: changing ‘children and young people’ to ‘children’ across all guidelines aligning factors in the careless driving guideline with...

The Council has published an evaluation of the impact and implementation of the bladed articles and offensive weapons definitive guidelines that came into effect on 1 June 2018: Bladed articles and offensive weapons – possession Bladed articles and offensive weapons – threats Bladed articles and offensive weapons (possession and threats) – children and young people...

This recruitment is now closed. We are looking for an intern to work with the social researchers on our Analysis and Research team...

You be the Judge, an interactive platform created by the Sentencing Council, and supported by the Judiciary of England and Wales, has gone live today.

You be the Judge, the Council's new interactive website, is now live. The website allows you to put yourself in the judge’s or magistrates’ chair to make decisions based on real-life cases and decide what the sentence should be.

Today we have published our Business Plan for 2024/25, setting out the work the Council aims to undertake in the year to March 2025 to meet our statutory objectives and the objectives we set ourselves in our five-year strategy.

This report will contain findings from an assessment of the impact and implementation of the Bladed articles and offensive weapons offences guidelines. The evaluation includes analysis of data from a collection exercise that was undertaken in magistrates’ courts in England and Wales before and after the definitive guidelines came into effect in June 2018. Sentencers...

The Sentencing Council has made a series of improvements to the online magistrates’ court sentencing guidelines to make it easier for users to find relevant guidelines and supplementary information.

A draft sentencing guideline for sentencing offenders convicted of non-fatal strangulation and non-fatal suffocation offences in courts across England and Wales, was published for consultation by the Sentencing Council today. Under the proposals, judges and magistrates will - for the first time - have a dedicated guideline to follow that will help ensure courts take...

The Sentencing Council is consulting on a new sentencing guideline for two new offences – non-fatal strangulation and non-fatal suffocation. The proposed guideline will ensure judges and magistrates in England and Wales are able to take a consistent approach when sentencing these offences, which can cause victims to experience serious psychological problems and even a...

The Sentencing Council has published a statistical bulletin and data tables, setting out current sentencing practice for non-fatal strangulation and suffocation offences. This is in preparation for the launch of the Council’s consultation on the draft Non-fatal strangulation and suffocation guideline, which will be published tomorrow, Wednesday 15 May 2024.

Her Honour Judge Amanda Rippon has been appointed to the Sentencing Council by the Lord Chief Justice, with the agreement of the Lord Chancellor.

Changes made to a number of sentencing guidelines in response to the Council’s 2023 miscellaneous amendments consultation came into effect on 1 April 2024, The amendments, which apply to both magistrates’ court and Crown Court guidelines, are designed to improve clarity and reflect developments in case law and changes in legislation. See the miscellaneous amendments...

From 1 April 2024, the Council is including a new, dedicated mitigating factor: ‘Pregnancy, childbirth and post-natal care’, in the majority of offence specific sentencing guidelines, providing guidance for courts on sentencing pregnant offenders and new mothers. Consideration of pregnancy in sentencing was previously part of the ‘Sole or primary carer’ mitigating factor, which set...

The Sentencing Council is consulting on the first ever sentencing guidelines for immigration offences. The guidelines reflect legislative changes to the Immigration Act 1971 brought in by the Nationality and Borders Act 2022. The proposed guidelines will be used by courts in England and Wales to sentence offenders convicted of immigration offences, including offences of...

A package of six new sentencing guidelines for offenders convicted of immigration offences in England and Wales were published for consultation by the independent Sentencing Council today following changes in legislation. Under the proposals, judges and magistrates will - for the first time - have dedicated sentencing guidelines for immigration offences including assisting illegal entry...

The Sentencing Council has published a statistical bulletin and data tables, explaining current sentencing practice for immigration offences. This is in preparation for the launch of the Council’s consultation on the immigration guidelines, which will be published tomorrow (Wednesday 20th March).

Changes to a number of sentencing guidelines have been published by the Sentencing Council following a consultation on miscellaneous amendments. The changes, which will come into effect on 1 April 2024, include amendments to the manslaughter guidelines made in response to recommendations in the Domestic Homicide Sentencing Review and the introduction of a new, dedicated...

The Sentencing Council’s response to the third annual consultation on miscellaneous amendments to sentencing guidelines used in both magistrates’ courts and the Crown Court was published today.

The Council has published the findings of qualitative research conducted with magistrates and judges exploring selected aggravating and mitigating factors and their accompanying expanded explanations. It also explored perspectives on the potential introduction of three new mitigating factors. In response to the findings, a number of amendments to selected factors have been proposed and consulted...

The Sentencing Council is consulting on six new and revised sentencing guidelines for motoring offences in England and Wales. The draft guidelines cover offences committed by people driving vehicles without the owner’s consent, vehicle registration fraud and driver disqualification. The proposed aggravated vehicle taking guidelines cover death caused, injury caused, dangerous driving and vehicle or...

Proposed sentencing guidelines for offenders convicted of motoring offences committed while driving vehicles without the owner’s consent, were published for consultation by the independent Sentencing Council today. The draft guidelines cover four aggravated vehicle taking offences, which would apply when offenders have driven dangerously, or caused death, injury or damage to property while, for example,...

The Sentencing Council has published a statistical bulletin and data tables, explaining current sentencing practice for aggravated vehicle taking and other motoring related matters. This is in preparation for the launch of the Council’s consultation on the aggravated vehicle taking offences guidelines, disqualification and other motoring related matters, which will be published tomorrow (Wednesday 21st...

The Sentencing Council has launched a consultation on new sentencing guidelines for offenders convicted of blackmail, kidnap or false imprisonment. The proposed guidelines will ensure judges in England and Wales are able to take a consistent approach when sentencing these offences, which can range in severity and can cause serious harm to victims. These will...

Proposed guidelines for sentencing offenders convicted of blackmail, kidnap or false imprisonment, were published by the independent Sentencing Council today. Under the proposals judges will, for the first time, have dedicated guidelines to follow when sentencing these offences. The new guidelines will ensure that the courts are able to take a consistent approach when sentencing...

The Sentencing Council has published a statistical bulletin and data tables, explaining current sentencing practice for kidnap, false imprisonment and blackmail. The format of the data tables has been adapted to improve accessibility. This is in preparation for the launch of the Council’s consultation on the kidnap, false imprisonment and blackmail guidelines, which will be...

The Council has responded to recommendations made by the Justice Committee following the Committee’s inquiry into public opinion and understanding of sentencing.

The Sentencing Council is consulting on proposed revisions to the Imposition of community and custodial sentences guideline The proposed revisions reflect changes in legislation, developments in case law, recent sentencing research, and feedback from criminal justice practitioners. The Imposition guideline sets out the general principles for imposing community orders and custodial sentences, and in what...

Proposals to revise the Imposition of community and custodial sentences guideline in England and Wales were published for consultation today by the independent Sentencing Council. The proposed revisions reflect changes in legislation, developments in case law, recent sentencing research, and feedback from criminal justice practitioners. The existing guideline, which applies to adult offenders only, came...

The Imposition guideline sets out the general principles for imposing community orders and custodial sentences, and in what circumstances a custodial sentence can be suspended. The guideline is designed to provide guidance to courts to consider a variety of things before they sentence an offender to a community order or custodial sentence. This includes considering...

We have published a mid-year update to our Business Plan for 2023/24, which summarises changes to the published plan, in particular to the timing of consultations and the publication of definitive guidelines.

The Council has published the findings of research conducted with sentencers and other legal professionals who use the online sentencing guidelines.

Today, the Lord Chancellor has announced the appointment of Johanna Robinson as a non-judicial member of the Sentencing Council with experience of the promotion of the welfare of victims of crime.

Today, the Council has published data covering the factors taken into account when sentencing adult offenders for robbery (where this was the principal offence), and details of the sentence imposed. We hope that users will find these data useful in order to conduct their own analysis. These data were collected from the Crown Court between...

On 1 October 2023, two new guidelines from the Sentencing Council for sentencing offenders convicted of interfering with the administration of justice will come into effect. The guidelines cover two offences: perverting the course of justice contrary to common law; and witness intimidation under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. There are currently...

On 13 September, the Council published a research roundup summarising some of the research work we have recently undertaken or commissioned. Our analysis and research work is an integral part of the guideline development process. We draw on a range of different data sources, as well as undertaking our own research, both quantitative and qualitative,...

Could you help us develop and monitor the Council’s sentencing guidelines? We are looking for judges and magistrates to join our research pool and take part in occasional research exercises. These exercises help us to understand how guidelines are being used in practice, identify any issues and assess their potential impact on sentencing practice. They...

Today the independent Sentencing Council publishes its response to recommendations arising from the review of sentencing in domestic homicide cases.

Today the Council has published a response to recommendations arising from the review of sentencing in domestic homicide cases.

The Council’s third annual consultation on miscellaneous amendments to guidelines opens today. We are proposing a series of changes designed to bring greater clarity and consistency to guidelines and reflect developments in legislation. The proposals include: amending the Fraud guideline to give more recognition to the impact of no or very little financial loss amending...

On 4 October 2023, the Council will be publishing data collected from the Crown Court covering the factors taken into account when sentencing adult offenders for robbery (where this was the principal offence). These data were collected between November 2016 and April 2017 after the publication of the Council’s robbery guideline, which came into force...

We have published our annual report for 2022/23. The report is Lord Justice William Davis’s first as Chairman of the Sentencing Council, and it documents the Council’s achievements in the context of the objectives we set in our five-year strategy

Two new guidelines for sentencing people convicted of interfering with the administration of justice in England and Wales were published today by the Sentencing Council following consultation. For the first time, judges and magistrates will have guidelines to assist in sentencing perverting the course of justice and witness intimidation offences. The new guidelines will enable...

The Sentencing Council has published two new guidelines for sentencing offenders convicted of perverting the course of justice and witness intimidation offences in England and Wales. The guidelines will ensure a consistent approach is taken to sentencing these two offences and make the process more transparent and easier to understand for victims, witnesses, offenders and...

The Sentencing Council has published data tables showing current sentencing practice for perverting the course of justice and witness intimidation offences. This is in preparation for the launch of the Council’s definitive perverting the course of justice and witness intimidation guidelines, which will be published tomorrow (Wednesday 12 July).

On 1 July 2023, a number of new and revised guidelines from the Sentencing Council will come into effect. Revised animal cruelty guidelines Two guidelines for sentencing offenders convicted of animal cruelty offences, reflecting changes introduced by Parliament in the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021, will come into effect. Produced by the Council following consultation,...

His Honour Judge Simon Drew KC has been appointed to the Sentencing Council by the Lord Chief Justice, with the agreement of the Lord Chancellor.

The Council has published 12 new and revised sentencing guidelines for offenders convicted of motoring offences in England and Wales. The changes include updated versions of six current guidelines that were published in 2008 and reflect new maximum sentences for some of the offences, including causing death by dangerous driving and causing death by careless...

A package of 12 new and revised sentencing guidelines for offenders convicted of motoring offences in England and Wales was published today by the independent Sentencing Council following consultation. The Council has revised six of its existing guidelines to take into account new maximum sentences introduced for some of the offences by the Police, Crime,...

The Sentencing Council has published data tables explaining current sentencing practice for motoring offences. This is in preparation for the launch of the Council’s definitive motoring guidelines, which will be published tomorrow (Thursday 15 June).

The Council has revised the Totality guideline, following consultation. The Totality guideline sets out the principles for courts to follow when sentencing an offender for more than one offence, or where the offender is already serving a sentence. Changes in the revised guideline, which will come into force on 1 July 2023, include: giving greater...

Today we have published our Business Plan for 2023/24, setting out the work the Council aims to undertake in the year to March 2024 to meet our statutory objectives and the objectives we set ourselves in our five-year strategy.

The Council is pleased to announce the interim appointment of Chief Constable Rob Nixon QPM by the Lord Chancellor, with the agreement of the Lord Chief Justice.

Updated sentencing guidelines for animal cruelty offences that reflect changes introduced by the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021, were published today by the Sentencing Council following consultation. For the first time, a new ‘Animal cruelty’ guideline gives judges and magistrates in England and Wales guidance for sentencing the most serious animal cruelty offences, including causing...

The Council has today published updated sentencing guidelines for animal cruelty offences, following consultation. The revised guidelines reflect the change in maximum penalty for the most serious cases of animal cruelty brought in by the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021. The changes introduce: a new ‘Animal cruelty’ guideline for the most serious offences, including causing...

The Sentencing Council has published data tables explaining current sentencing practice for animal cruelty offences. This is in preparation for the launch of the Council’s revised animal cruelty guidelines, which will be published tomorrow (Wednesday 10 May).

The Sentencing Council is looking to appoint a non-Judicial member with experience of the criminal justice system, specifically as a senior police officer.

A number of new and revised sentencing guidelines are coming into effect today. Updated guidelines for sentencing offenders convicted of child cruelty offences Causing or allowing a child to die, or causing or allowing a child to suffer serious physical harm, and Cruelty to a child including ill-treatment, abandonment or neglect These guidelines introduce a...

The Council has today published a report containing findings from a review of trend analysis of the impact of the Imposition guideline in clarifying the principles relating to the imposition of community and custodial sentences. The Imposition guideline was published in February 2017 and aimed to set out the general principles around imposing community orders...

The Council is aware of concerns in relation to the current prison population in England and Wales. This raises the issue of whether the potential impact on offenders should be considered in sentencing. There are well-established sentencing principles which, with sentencing guidelines, are sufficiently flexible to deal with all circumstances. These principles are familiar to...

The Council has published a response to the second annual consultation on miscellaneous amendments to sentencing guidelines. The response sets out changes that will be made to a number of sentencing guidelines and will come it effect on 1 April 2023. The changes, which apply to both the magistrates’ courts and Crown Court, are being...

The Council has published updated sentencing guidelines for offenders convicted of child cruelty offences in England and Wales, following consultation. The new guidelines update the existing guidelines, which came into force in January 2019, and reflect new maximum sentences introduced by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. The guidelines introduce a new ‘very...

Updates to the sentencing guidelines for offenders convicted of child cruelty offences including causing or allowing death or serious injury in England and Wales, were published today by the Sentencing Council following consultation. The updated guidelines reflect recent changes in legislation and introduce a new ‘very high culpability’ level for the most serious cases to...

The Sentencing Council has published data tables explaining current sentencing practice for child cruelty offences. This is in preparation for the launch of the Council’s revised child cruelty guidelines, which will be published tomorrow (Tuesday 7 March).

This report will contain findings from an assessment of the impact of the Imposition guideline in clarifying the principles relating to the imposition of community and custodial sentences through a trend analysis of sentencing outcomes between 2011 and 2019. Release date: 22nd March 2023 (9:30am)

The Sentencing Council has published two new guidelines for sentencing retailers convicted of selling knives to children under 18. The new guidelines come into effect on 1 April 2023. The two guidelines – one for sentencing organisations and one for individuals – apply to offenders who fail to ensure that adequate safeguards are in place...

New sentencing guidelines for sentencing retailers including large organisations and individual shop owners convicted of selling knives to children in England and Wales were published today by the Sentencing Council following consultation. The two guidelines, which will come into effect on 1 April 2023, apply to organisations and individuals who fail to ensure that adequate...

The Sentencing Council has published data tables explaining current sentencing practice for the offence of sale of knives etc to persons under 18. This is in preparation for the launch of the Council’s sale of knives etc to persons under 18 definitive guideline, which will be published tomorrow (Wednesday 15 February).

The Council has compiled an updated list of some criminal justice-related publications routinely produced across government, including by the Ministry of Justice, the Home Office and the Office for National Statistics. The data will be a useful resource for journalists, academics, researchers and anyone with an interest in the criminal justice system. The page includes:...

The Sentencing Council is publishing today the findings of research designed to identify and analyse any potential for the Council’s work to cause disparity in sentencing outcomes across demographic groups. The research, conducted by the University of Hertfordshire to support the Council’s commitment to “explore and consider issues of equality and diversity relevant to our...

New research that examines the potential and perceived impact of sentencing guidelines on specific groups of offenders has been published by the Sentencing Council. The research, conducted by the University of Hertfordshire, focused on any potential for the Council’s work to cause disparity in sentencing outcomes across demographic groups. It was conducted to support the...

We are recruiting a non-judicial member to the Sentencing Council. We are seeking candidates with knowledge and understanding of the criminal justice sector and current or recent relevant experience of promoting the welfare of victims of crime.

This event was held on Friday 13 January 2023. We have published a report of the proceedings.

On the occasion of the Sentencing Council’s 10th anniversary in 2020, we reviewed the Council’s achievements and sought views on our future priorities. Following a public consultation, we identified five Strategic objectives for 2021-2026, including a commitment to “explore and consider issues of equality and diversity relevant to our work and take any necessary action...

Public confidence in sentencing and the criminal justice system: 2022, published today, reports on research conducted for the Council to provide insight into what drives the public’s attitudes to and understanding of the criminal justice system. The research, which follows up on a similar study conducted in 2018, makes a series of recommendations on actions...

The Council is pleased to announce that the Lord Chancellor has approved the appointment of Beverley Thompson OBE, as a non-judicial member of the Sentencing Council, for a second term of 3 years from 15 June 2022

Every day, judges and magistrates preside over cases coming before them in court and, if an offender is found guilty, they use sentencing guidelines to determine what the appropriate sentence should be. But what if the offender committed more than one offence? What happens then? Do the courts work out the sentence for each individual...

The Council is consulting on proposed changes to the Totality guideline. The guideline sets out the approach for sentencing an offender for more than one offence or where the offender is already serving a sentence. Used alongside the relevant offence-specific guidelines or the General guideline, it provides sentencers with a framework for reaching a sentence...

We have published a review of literature looking at evidence on the effectiveness of sentencing. The review considers in particular evidence relating to reoffending, reflecting the Council’s statutory duty to have regard to the effectiveness of sentences in preventing reoffending. It also considers evidence on related areas such as the impact of sentencing on long-term...

The Sentencing Council offer our condolences to His Majesty the King and to the members of the Royal Family on the death of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

The Council is seeking views on a series of proposed changes to existing guidelines in our second annual miscellaneous amendments consultation. The proposed changes, which apply to both the magistrates’ courts and Crown Court, are designed to bring greater clarity and consistency and reflect developments in legislation. The Council considers the changes to be significant...

The Council welcomes the reappointment of Diana Fawcett as a non-judicial member of the Sentencing Council with specific responsibility for promoting the welfare of victims of crime, for a second tenure of 18 months.

We welcome the appointment of Richard Wright QC as a non-judicial member of the Sentencing Council from 1 August 2022 for a period of 3 years.

Plans to update sentencing guidelines for offenders convicted of child cruelty offences including causing or allowing death or serious injury, or neglect in England and Wales were published by the Sentencing Council for consultation today following changes to legislation. The proposals introduce a new ‘very high culpability’ level for the most serious cases to reflect...

The Council is consulting on updated sentencing guidelines for offenders convicted of child cruelty offences in England and Wales. The draft guidelines update the existing guidelines, which came into force in January 2019, and reflect new maximum sentences introduced by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. The Council’s proposals would introduce a new...

The Sentencing Council has published a statistical bulletin and data tables, explaining current sentencing practice for child cruelty offences. This is in preparation for the launch of the Council’s consultation on revised child cruelty guidelines, which will be published tomorrow (Thursday 4 August).

The Sentencing Council is pleased to welcome Lord Justice William Davis, who joins the Council today as Chairman.

Today, the Council has published data covering the factors taken into account when sentencing adult offenders for a selection of drug offences, and details of the sentence imposed. We hope that users will find these datasets useful in order to conduct their own analysis. These data were collected from magistrates’ courts between November 2015 and...

The Sentencing Council welcomes the decision to make judges’ sentencing remarks in some Crown Court cases available for broadcast.

Revised sentencing guidelines for offenders convicted of terrorism offences in England and Wales have been published by the Sentencing Council following consultation. The revisions, which will come into force on 1 October 2022, update the current guidelines – published in 2018 – and reflect increases in maximum sentences and other changes brought in by the...

The Sentencing Council has published updated sentencing guidelines for terrorism offences in England and Wales following consultation. The new guidelines, which will come into effect on 1 October 2022, update the current guidelines published in 2018 to reflect changes brought in by the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019 and the Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Act...

The Sentencing Council has published data tables detailing recent sentencing practice for terrorism offences. This is in preparation for the launch of the Council’s Terrorism offences revised definitive guidelines, which will be published tomorrow (Wednesday 27 July). The data tables include statistics on volumes and sentencing outcomes for the terrorism offences which are covered by...

We are pleased to welcome the appointment of Dr Elaine Freer as a non-judicial member of the Sentencing Council for a period of 3 years.

We are pleased to announce that Lord Justice William Davis has been appointed as Chairman of the Sentencing Council, with effect from 1 August 2022.

The Sentencing Council Annual Report 2021/22, published today, is the Council’s 12th annual report and Lord Justice Holroyde’s fourth as Chairman.

A comprehensive package of 12 new and revised sentencing guidelines for offenders convicted of motoring offences in England and Wales have been published today by the Sentencing Council for a three-month consultation. The proposals include updated versions of six current guidelines – published in 2008 – and reflect new maximum sentences for some of the...

The Council is consulting on 12 new and revised sentencing guidelines for offenders convicted of motoring offences in England and Wales. We are seeking views on the draft guidelines – which apply to adult offenders only – from judges, magistrates and others with an interest in this area. The consultation will run from 7 July...

The Sentencing Council has published a statistical bulletin and data tables, explaining current sentencing practice for motoring offences. This is in preparation for the launch of the Council’s consultation on motoring guidelines, which will be published tomorrow (Thursday 7 July).

On 29 July 2022, the Council will be publishing data collected from magistrates’ courts covering the factors taken into account when sentencing adult offenders for a selection of drug offences. These data were collected between November 2015 and January 2016 after the publication of the Council’s drug offences guidelines, which came into force in February...

We have published our business plan 2022/23 setting out the work the Council will undertake in the coming year to meet our statutory objectives and the objectives we set ourselves in our five-year strategy.

Draft sentencing guidelines for sentencing retailers including large organisations and individual shop owners convicted of selling knives to children in England and Wales were published for consultation today by the Sentencing Council. There are two guidelines – one for sentencing organisations and one for sentencing individuals – which will apply to offenders who fail to...

The Sentencing Council has published two draft sentencing guidelines for sentencing retailers convicted of selling knives to children under 18 in England and Wales. The two guidelines – one for sentencing organisations and one for sentencing individuals –will apply to offenders who fail to ensure that adequate safeguards are in place to prevent the sale...

The Sentencing Council has published a statistical bulletin and data tables, explaining current sentencing practice for the offence of sale of knives etc to persons under 18. This is in preparation for the launch of the Council’s sale of knives etc to persons under 18 guideline consultation, which will be published tomorrow (Wednesday 1 June).

District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts) Stephen Leake has been appointed to the Sentencing Council by the Lord Chief Justice, with the agreement of the Lord Chancellor.

Revised sentencing guidelines for domestic, non-domestic and aggravated burglary offences in England and Wales, which come into effect on 1 July 2022, were published today by the Sentencing Council following consultation. The revised guidelines follow the newer stepped format of more recent guidelines issued by the Council and introduce new middle categories for both culpability...

The Sentencing Council has published updated sentencing guidelines for domestic, non-domestic and aggravated burglary offences in England and Wales following consultation. The revised guidelines follow the stepped format of more recent guidelines issued by the Council and introduce new middle categories for both culpability and harm factors. This revised structure gives sentencers greater flexibility and...

The Sentencing Council has published data tables detailing recent sentencing practice for burglary offences. This is in preparation for the launch of the Council’s Burglary offences revised definitive guidelines, which will be published tomorrow (Thursday 19th May). The data tables include statistics on volumes and sentencing outcomes for the offences covered by the revised definitive...

Revised sentencing guidelines that clarify how courts in England and Wales should sentence offenders convicted of arranging or facilitating sexual offences against a child were published today by the Sentencing Council following consultation. Under the revised guidelines, which will come into effect on 31 May 2022, judges and magistrates will consider the intended sexual harm...

The Council has published revised sentencing guidelines for child sexual offences where no child exists or is harmed. The revised guidelines clarify how courts in England and Wales should sentence offenders convicted of these offences. The changes, which will come into effect on 31 May 2022, stipulate how judges and magistrates should base the sentence...

The Sentencing Council has published data tables detailing recent sentencing practice for specific sexual offences. This is in preparation for the launch of the Council’s Sexual offences definitive guidelines, which will be published tomorrow (Tuesday 17 May). The data tables include statistics on volumes and sentencing outcomes for the specific offences covered by the definitive...

Proposals to update sentencing guidelines for animal cruelty offences in England and Wales were published today by the Sentencing Council, to reflect changes introduced by the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021. Under the proposals, courts will have a new guideline for the most serious offences, including causing unnecessary suffering, tail docking and animal fighting, after...

The Sentencing Council is consulting on revised sentencing guidelines for animal cruelty offences following changes introduced by the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021. The proposed changes include a new guideline for the most serious animal cruelty offences, including tail docking and animal fighting, after the maximum penalty was changed by Parliament from six months’ to...

The Sentencing Council has published a statistical bulletin and data tables, explaining current sentencing practice for animal cruelty offences. This is in preparation for the launch of the Council’s animal cruelty guideline consultation, which will be published tomorrow (Tuesday 10 May).

Proposed new sentencing guidelines for perverting the course of justice and revised guidelines for witness intimidation in England and Wales were published for consultation today by the Sentencing Council. Under the proposed guidelines, which apply to adult offenders, judges and magistrates will for the first time have comprehensive guidelines to sentence these two offences. Currently,...

The Sentencing Council has published two sentencing guidelines for offenders convicted of perverting the course of justice and witness intimidation offences in England and Wales for consultation. The guidelines will ensure a consistent approach is taken to sentencing these two offences and will make the sentencing process more transparent and easier to understand for victims,...

The Sentencing Council has published a statistical bulletin and data tables, explaining current sentencing practice for perverting the course of justice and witness intimidation. This is in preparation for the launch of the Council’s perverting the course of justice and witness intimidation guideline consultation, which will be published tomorrow (Wednesday 30 March).

The Council will be making amendments to a number of sentencing guidelines from 1 April 2022, following the first annual consultation on miscellaneous amendments. The amendments are being made to improve clarity and reflect changes in legislation. They relate to: breach of a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO): clarifying that when the court is dealing...

The Sentencing Council is inviting bids to conduct research to support a review of the methodology of our resource assessments, to support our statutory duty in this area.

The Sentencing Council is inviting bids to conduct a literature review bringing together the evidence on effectiveness of sentencing to support our statutory duty in this area.

The Council, working in partnership with the Judicial College, has launched a pronouncement-card builder tool for magistrates’ courts.

Victims are central to sentencing guidelines. When following the guidelines, the two things a court must consider first when deciding how serious a case is are: culpability, which means how much to blame the offender is, and harm. Harm can include: the harm actually caused to victims; the harm intended to be caused; and the...

The new sentencing guideline for the unlawful importation of firearms offences comes into force today. The guideline covers importation of firearms and ammunition under two offences: improper importation of goods and fraudulent evasion of prohibition/ restriction. It applies to adult offenders sentenced in the Crown Court and magistrates’ courts in England and Wales and refers...

As 2021 draws to a close, I want to take this time to reflect on some of the work the Sentencing Council has completed over the last 12 months. It has been a busy and challenging year, during which our ways of working have been profoundly disrupted.

The Sentencing Council is providing a new tool for judges sentencing in the Crown Court. SentencingACE allows judges to make a quick, ready-reckoner style check of the sentence they intend to impose and to confirm that all the elements of their sentence are correct in law. The tool, which was developed by a High Court...

The Sentencing Council is providing a new tool to support the process of sentencing in the Crown Court. SentencingACE allows judges to make a quick, ready-reckoner style check of the sentence they intend to impose. It provides a convenient alternative to checking through the reference books to confirm that all elements of an intended sentence...

The Council has published a new guideline for sentencing offenders convicted of firearms importation offences in England and Wales, following consultation. The guideline will ensure a consistent approach is taken to sentencing firearms importation offences and will make the sentencing process more transparent and easy to understand for victims, witnesses, defendants and the public. The...

A new guideline for sentencing offenders convicted of importing prohibited or restricted firearms in England and Wales was published by the Sentencing Council today following consultation. The new guideline, which applies to adult offenders, will come into effect on 1 January 2022. The guideline was developed following requests from the National Crime Agency and the...

The Sentencing Council has published data tables detailing recent sentencing trends for firearms importation offences. This is in preparation for the launch of the Council’s Firearms - importation definitive guideline, which will be published tomorrow (Wednesday 24 November). The data tables include statistics on volumes and sentencing outcomes for the offences covered by the definitive...

On 4 November 2021 the Sentencing Council is launching the strategy that will shape its work for the next five years.

The Sentencing Council is launching a new strategy that will shape our work for the next five years. The strategy follows a public consultation that asked what the Council’s objectives should be for the coming years...

Plans to revise four sentencing guidelines for terrorism offences in England and Wales to reflect changes brought in by the Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Act 2021, were published for consultation today by the Sentencing Council. The consultation proposes changes to the guidelines below, to bring them in line with the new legislation: Preparation of terrorist acts...

The Sentencing Council has published a consultation on revised sentencing guidelines for four terrorism offences in England and Wales following changes brought in by the Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Act 2021. The Council is asking judges, magistrates and others interested in the criminal justice system for their views on the proposed changes to the sentencing guidelines,...

The Sentencing Council has published data tables, showing current sentencing practice for certain terrorism offences. This is in preparation for the launch of the Council’s terrorism (revised) guideline consultation, which will be published tomorrow (Wednesday 20 October).

The Council has published research looking at the Totality guideline and how it is being used by sentencers. The research explores how useful judges and magistrates find the guideline, how easy it is to apply and where sentencers would like to see changes. The Totality guideline is applied by the courts when sentencing an offender...

We have opened a consultation asking practitioners who use sentencing guidelines for their views on a series of proposed changes to existing guidelines. The proposed changes are designed to bring greater clarity and consistency and reflect developments in legislation. They relate to: breach of a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO): clarifying that it is not...

The first sentencing guidelines for offences under the Modern Slavery Act 2015, including slavery, forced labour, human trafficking or an offence committed to facilitate human trafficking, were published today by the Sentencing Council following consultation. Under the new guidelines, which apply to England and Wales, judges and magistrates will give severe penalties of up to...

We have published new sentencing guidelines for sentencing offenders convicted of modern slavery offences in England and Wales, following consultation. The new guidelines will give judges and magistrates dedicated guidelines to follow when sentencing offenders guilty of offences under the Modern Slavery Act 2015, including slavery, servitude, forced or compulsory labour, and trafficking for the...

As part of its tenth anniversary year, the Council undertook to investigate its impact in three key areas, and this involved conducting analytical projects on a number of topics

The Sentencing Council has published data tables, detailing recent sentencing trends for modern slavery offences. This is in preparation for the launch of the Council’s Modern slavery definitive guideline, which will be published tomorrow (Thursday 12 August 2021). The data tables include statistics on volumes and sentencing outcomes for the offences covered by the guideline,...

Two new sentencing guidelines for sentencing individuals or companies that sell or possess counterfeit goods intended for sale were published by the Sentencing Council today, following consultation. Under the new guidelines, offenders who run a sophisticated operation or risk significant harm - including risk of serious physical harm or death to end users - will...

Today, we have published two new guidelines for sentencing individuals and organisations for the offence of Unauthorised use of a trade mark. The new guidelines, which will come into force on 1 October 2021, apply to adult offenders in England and Wales and will replace the current magistrates’ court guideline that was published in 2008...

The Sentencing Council has published data tables, detailing recent sentencing trends for the offence of unauthorised use of a trade mark. This is in preparation for the launch of the Council’s Unauthorised use of a trade mark definitive guidelines, which will be published tomorrow (Thursday 5 August 2021). The data tables include statistics on volumes...

The Sentencing Council Annual Report 2020/21, published today, is the Council’s 11th annual report and Lord Justice Holroyde’s third as Chairman.

As part of its tenth anniversary year, the Council undertook to investigate its impact in three key areas, and this involved conducting analytical projects on the following topics: Estimating the changes in sentencing severity and requirements for prison places associated with the Sentencing Council’s guidelines A review of consistency in sentencing, plus analysis investigating the...

Bethany Brewer and Harriet Miles of the Council’s Analysis and Research team say why we are recruiting volunteers to help us with our research Judicial input into the Sentencing Council’s research is crucial to our work in developing and revising sentencing guidelines. Input from sentencers allows us to understand how guidelines might be used in...

Senior Policy Adviser, Ollie Simpson, explains why the Council is consulting on a harm assessment in child sexual offences that is based on what the offender intended to do How do you measure the harm caused by a crime when there isn’t any victim? This might seem like an abstract question but it’s something the...

Revised sentencing guidelines for assault offences, including common assault and attempted murder, and new guidance for assault on emergency workers to reflect changes in legislation come into effect today, 1 July 2021. There are six new guidelines, all of which apply to adult offenders: Common assault – section 39 Criminal Justice Act 1988; Racially/religiously aggravated...

The Sentencing Council is recruiting two non-judicial members. Both post-holders must have knowledge or understanding of the criminal justice sector

Jenna Downs, Senior Statistical Officer on the Council's Analysis and Research team, explains why the Council has moved to using self-identified ethnicity data The Council is committed to promoting fairness in sentencing, and one of the ways we do this is by exploring and understanding potential disparities within sentencing outcomes between offenders from different demographic...

A new draft sentencing guideline for sentencing offenders convicted in England and Wales of importing prohibited or restricted firearms was published for consultation by the Sentencing Council today. The proposed guideline covers importation of firearms and ammunition under two Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 offences - improper importation of goods and fraudulent evasion of...

Today we have opened a consultation on a draft sentencing guideline covering importation of firearms and ammunition under two Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 offences. The guideline would apply to adult offenders in England and Wales and proposes sentences of up to 28 years’ custody for the most serious cases, for example the large-scale...

The Sentencing Council has published a statistical bulletin and data tables, explaining current sentencing practice for firearms importation offences. This is in preparation for the launch of the Council’s firearms importation offences guideline consultation, which will be published tomorrow (Thursday 17 June).

The Sentencing Council is commissioning a research project to review any potential for our work to cause disparity in sentencing.

Plans to revise sentencing guidelines for domestic, non-domestic and aggravated burglary offences in England and Wales were published for consultation today by the Sentencing Council. The proposed guidelines, which follow an evaluation of the existing definitive guidelines that came into force in 2012, introduce new middle categories for both culpability and harm factors, to allow...

The Sentencing Council has published a consultation to revise and update sentencing guidelines for domestic, non-domestic and aggravated burglary offences in England and Wales following evaluation of the current guidelines published in 2012. The Council is seeking views on proposed changes to introduce new middle categories for both culpability and harm factors, which will allow...

The Sentencing Council has published a statistical bulletin and data tables, explaining current sentencing practice for burglary offences. This is in preparation for the launch of the Council’s burglary offences guideline consultation, which will be published tomorrow (Wednesday 9 June).

Revised sentencing guidelines for assault offences including attempted murder and common assault, and new guidance for assaults on emergency workers were published today by the Sentencing Council, following wide consultation. The guidelines will come into effect on 1 July 2021. For the first time, judges and magistrates in England and Wales will have specific guidance...

The Sentencing Council has published revised sentencing guidelines for assault offences, including common assault and attempted murder, and new guidance for assault on emergency workers to reflect changes in legislation. The guidelines will come into effect on 1 July 2021. The new guidelines, which apply to adult offenders, will bring a consistent approach to sentencing...

The Sentencing Council has published data tables detailing recent sentencing trends for assault offences. This is in preparation for the launch of the Council’s Assault Offences definitive guidelines, which will be published tomorrow (Thursday 27th May). The data tables include statistics on volumes and sentencing outcomes for the offences covered by the definitive guidelines.

The Sentencing Council has launched a consultation on revised sentencing guidelines for child sexual offences where no child exists or is harmed. The revised guidelines will clarify how courts in England and Wales should sentence offenders convicted of these offences. The Council is seeking views on proposed changes to the guidelines, which will see judges...

Proposals to revise sentencing guidelines for child sexual offences in cases where no sexual activity takes place or the targeted child does not exist, have been published for consultation by the Sentencing Council today. The revised guidelines will clarify how courts in England and Wales should sentence offenders convicted of these offences. Under the proposals,...

The Sentencing Council has published a statistical bulletin and data tables, explaining current sentencing practice for selected sexual offences. This is in preparation for the launch of the Council’s sexual offences guideline consultation, which will be published tomorrow (Thursday 13 May).

The Sentencing Council offers its condolences to Her Majesty the Queen, and to the members of the Royal Family, on the death of His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh.

(The data collection referred to in this blog closed on 7 May 2021.) Majid Bastan-Hagh, Social Researcher, talks about the Council's>research and analysis pages of the website. We hope that this type of data sharing will be of benefit to members of the public, including academics who are researching in the area. The Council would...

Charlotte Davidson, Senior Statistical Officer, on the data we have published covering this theft offence and why it is such an important step for the Council. This is the first time that the Council has published magistrates’ court data. The datasets provide a very rich and detailed source that can tell us about the variety...

The Sentencing Council is commissioning a research project to review any potential for its work to cause disparity in sentencing.

A comprehensive package of revised sentencing guidelines for drugs offences that reflect a change in the nature of offending and additional offences in relation to psychoactive substances has been published today by the Sentencing Council following consultation. Changes in offending include a rise in the exploitation of vulnerable people, an increase in drug purity and...

The Sentencing Council has today published revised sentencing guidelines for sentencing offenders convicted of drugs to respond to the changing nature of offending following consultation. Changes in offending include a rise in the exploitation of vulnerable people, an increase in drug purity and new drugs in the market. The new guidelines, which will come into...

The Sentencing Council has published data tables detailing recent sentencing trends for drug offences. This is in preparation for the launch of the Council’s Drug Offences definitive guidelines, which will be published tomorrow (Wednesday 27th January). The data tables include statistics on volumes and sentencing outcomes for the offences covered by the definitive guidelines.

New sentencing guidelines for firearms offences come into force today. The guidelines apply to adult offenders sentenced in the Crown Court and magistrates’ courts in England and Wales for eight offences under the Firearms Act 1968: Possession, purchase or acquisition of a prohibited weapon or ammunition Possession, purchase or acquisition of a firearm/ammunition/shotgun without a...

Today, the Council has published data covering the factors taken into account when sentencing adult offenders for theft from a shop or stall, and details of the sentence imposed. We hope that users will find these datasets useful to conduct their own analysis. The publication can be found here. This data was collected from magistrates’...

Today, the Council is launching eight new sentencing guidelines to be used by the Crown Court and magistrates’ courts in England and Wales when sentencing firearms offences. The new guidelines will come into effect on 1 January 2021. The aim of the guidelines, which will apply to adult offenders, is to help the courts deliver...

Eight new guidelines for sentencing offenders convicted of firearms offences ranging from the unlawful possession of weapons to manufacturing illegal guns have been published by the Sentencing Council following consultation. The new guidelines will come into force on 1 January 2021. For the first time, judges and magistrates in England and Wales will have dedicated...

The Sentencing Council has published data tables detailing recent sentencing trends for firearms offences. This is in preparation for the launch of the Council’s Firearms Offences definitive guidelines, which will be published tomorrow (Wednesday 9th December). The data tables include statistics on volumes and sentencing outcomes for the offences covered by the definitive guidelines, and...

To mark the 10th anniversary of the Sentencing Council in April 2020, the Chairman of the Council, Lord Justice Holroyde, published an article looking back on 10 years of the Council and forward to our vision for the future.

The Sentencing Code comes into effect today in England and Wales, consolidating existing sentencing procedure law into a single Act.

The Council will be publishing data collected from magistrates' courts covering the factors taken into account when sentencing adult offenders for theft from a shop or stall, (where this was the principal offence), on 17 December 2020. This data was collected before and after the publication of the new guideline and was used in the...

The Council has published two reports: an assessment of the impact and implementation of the Children and Young People definitive guideline and an assessment of the impact and implementation of the Reduction in Sentence for a Guilty Plea definitive guideline. The Children and Young People guideline came into force on 1 June 2017 and covers...

Two new judicial members – the Honourable Mrs Justice May and Jo King JP – have been appointed to the Sentencing Council by the Lord Chief Justice, with the agreement of the Lord Chancellor.

The Council has published an assessment of the impact of the Dangerous dog offences guidelines, which came into force in July 2016. The guidelines cover: Dog dangerously out of control in any place where death is caused Dog dangerously out of control in any place where a person is injured Dog dangerously out of control...

The Council is to publish two analytical reports summarising assessments of the impact and implementation of: Reduction in sentence for a guilty plea overarching guideline, including the equivalent guidance on reductions for guilty pleas contained within the Sentencing children and young people overarching guideline, and Sentencing children and young people overarching guideline, including the offence...

Proposed sentencing guidelines for offenders guilty of modern slavery offences including slavery, servitude, compulsory labour or trafficking people for exploitation purposes, have been published for consultation today by the Sentencing Council. The draft guidelines, which apply to adult offenders, cover two main offences under the Modern Slavery Act (MSA) 2015: Holding someone in slavery, servitude...

The Council has launched a consultation on proposed guidelines for sentencing offenders convicted of modern slavery offences, including slavery, servitude, compulsory labour and trafficking people for exploitation purposes. The draft guidelines, which apply to adult offenders, cover two main offences under the Modern Slavery Act (MSA) 2015: Holding someone in slavery, servitude and forced labour...

The Sentencing Council has published a statistical bulletin and data tables, detailing recent sentencing trends for modern slavery offences. This is in preparation for the launch of the Council’s Modern slavery offences guideline consultation, which will be published tomorrow (Thursday 15th October).

The changes to the Magistrates’ Courts Sentencing Guidelines and explanatory materials, which we consulted on in early 2020, are now in force from 1 October. The guidelines apply to all magistrates’ courts in England and Wales. The changes to the Breach of a community order guideline and Totality guideline will also apply in the Crown...

The new guideline for sentencing offenders with mental disorders comes into effect today, 1 October 2020. Overarching principles: Sentencing offenders with mental disorders, developmental disorders, or neurological impairments will provide judges and magistrates with clarity and transparency in this difficult and complex area of sentencing. The guideline applies to adults who at the time of...

This report will contain findings from an assessment of the impact on sentences of the 2016 update to the Dangerous Dog Offences Definitive Guideline. Release date: 21st October 2020 (9:30am)

A new guideline for sentencing offenders with mental disorders, developmental disorders and neurological impairments has been published by the Sentencing Council today following consultation. For the first time, judges and magistrates will have guidelines to assist them in sentencing in this difficult and complex area. The new ‘Overarching principles: Sentencing offenders with mental disorders, developmental...

The Sentencing Council has published a new guideline for sentencing offenders with mental disorders, developmental disorders or neurological impairments. The ‘Overarching principles: Sentencing offenders with mental disorders, developmental disorders, or neurological impairments’ guideline, provides clarity and transparency around the sentencing process for this group of offenders. The guideline, which will come into force on 1...

Our annual report for 2019/20 was laid before Parliament today. The report is Lord Justice Holroyde’s second as Chairman of the Sentencing Council and documents the Council’s achievements of the year 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020. These achievements include: publishing three definitive guidelines, all of which have come into force: Arson and Criminal...

Draft guidelines for sentencing individuals and organisations for selling or possessing counterfeit goods intended for sale were published for consultation by the Sentencing Council today. The two separate guidelines apply to the single offence of using a trade mark without the owner’s consent, which can include possessing or selling counterfeit goods, or counterfeiting or possessing...

The Sentencing Council has launched a consultation on new guidelines for sentencing offenders for using a trade mark without the owner’s consent. The new guideline will apply to both individuals and organisations in England and Wales. The new guideline will replace the current guideline published in 2008, which is used in magistrates’ courts and applies...

The Sentencing Council has published a statistical bulletin and data tables, detailing recent sentencing trends for the offence of unauthorised use of a trade mark. This is in preparation for the launch of the Council’s Unauthorised use of a trade mark guideline consultation, which will be published tomorrow (Wednesday 8th July).

The Secretary of State for Justice has announced the appointment of Assistant Commissioner (AC) Nick Ephgrave as the policing member of the Sentencing Council for three years from 26 May 2020. Appointed AC for Frontline Policing in the Metropolitan Police (Met) in March 2020, Nick Ephgrave previously served as AC for Met Operations and, prior...

The Sentencing Council is aware of and understands the concerns that many people have about the effect the Covid-19 emergency is having on conditions in prisons and the potentially heavier impact of custodial sentences on offenders and their families. There are well-established sentencing principles which, with sentencing guidelines, are sufficiently flexible to deal with all...

Proposed revised sentencing guidelines for seven assault offences, including common assault and attempted murder, and a new guideline for assault on emergency workers, were published for consultation today by the Sentencing Council. The proposed guidelines, which apply to adult offenders, will help courts in England and Wales take a consistent approach to sentencing assault offences,...

We opened a consultation today on revised sentencing guidelines for seven assault offences, including common assault and attempted murder, and a new guideline for assault on emergency workers. The Council is seeking views on proposed changes to the way in which the seriousness of assault offences is assessed and on a new draft guideline for...

The Sentencing Council has published a statistical bulletin and data tables, detailing recent sentencing trends for assault offences. This is in preparation for the launch of the Council’s Assault Offences guideline consultation, which will be published tomorrow (Thursday 16th April). The statistical bulletin and data tables include offences covered by the draft revised guideline, and...

The Sentencing Council has published an assessment of the impact and implementation of the 2017 update to the Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Guidelines (MCSG). The updated guidelines, which cover 27 offences, replaced the previous guidelines produced by the Sentencing Guidelines Council in 2008. The assessment report considers 19 offences from the updated guidelines. These include offences...

The Sentencing Council has launched a public consultation to determine its future direction, balancing its priorities against limited resources. The consultation, which has now been extended and will run from 10 March to 9 September 2020, is seeking views on where the Council should focus its efforts in the next 10 years. The consultation is...

This report will contain findings from an assessment of the impact on sentences of the 2017 update to the Magistrates' Court Sentencing Guidelines. Release date: 24th March 2020 (9:30am)

Proposals to provide more guidance to courts in England and Wales for sentencing drivers who claim exceptional hardship when facing disqualification were launched today in a public consultation by the Sentencing Council. The proposals, which follow requests for more guidance from magistrates, also include minor changes to sentencing guidelines for driving while disqualified and breach...

The Sentencing Council has launched a public consultation on proposed revisions to sentencing guidelines for driving offences disqualifications, breach of community orders and clarifications to some explanatory materials. The proposals, which follow requests for more guidance from magistrates in England and Wales, relate chiefly to sentencing in magistrates’ courts but may also affect sentencing in...

Plans to revise sentencing guidelines for drugs offences in England and Wales were published for consultation today by the Sentencing Council, following significant change in the nature of offending, the increased seriousness of the offences, emerging drugs and new offences in psychoactive substances. The Council is proposing to revise five of the current drug offences...

Plans to revise sentencing guidelines for drugs offences in England and Wales were published for consultation today by the Sentencing Council, following significant change in the nature of offending, the increased seriousness of the offences, emerging drugs and new offences in psychoactive substances. The Council is also releasing today research conducted to support the guideline...

To support the revision of the Council’s drug offences guidelines, the Council has commissioned research that looks at the sentencing of three supply-related drug offences in the Crown Court between 2012 and 2015. The research considered the association between an offender’s sex and ethnicity and the type and length of sentence they received. It shows...

The Council has published its Business Plan setting out its aims and objectives for 2019 to 2020.

The Sentencing Council has launched a public consultation on revisions to some of the current sentencing guidelines for terrorism offences in England and Wales. The proposed revisions follow significant changes to terrorism legislation brought in by the new Counter Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019. The revised guidelines cover the following offences: Encouragement of terrorism...

Proposals for revisions to some of the current sentencing guidelines for terrorism offences in England and Wales were published for consultation today by the Sentencing Council, following significant legislative changes brought in by the new Counter Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019. The main legislative changes impacting the guidelines include increases to the statutory maximum...

A comprehensive package of guidelines to be used by all courts in England and Wales when sentencing offenders convicted of public order offences, ranging from low level disorderly behaviour to widespread public disorder, has been published today by the independent Sentencing Council, following consultation. The new guidelines, which come into effect on 1 January 2020,...

The Sentencing Council has published new guidelines to be used by judges and magistrates in England and Wales when sentencing offenders convicted of public order offences, following consultation. The new guidelines, which come into effect on 1 January 2020, apply to existing public order offences, ranging from low level disorderly behaviour to widespread public disorder....

Draft guidelines for sentencing offenders for the most commonly sentenced firearms offences were published today in a consultation launched by the Sentencing Council. The consultation is seeking the views of judges, magistrates and others interested in the sentencing of these offences on the proposals. The consultation runs from 9 October 2019 to 14 January 2020....

The Sentencing Council has launched a public consultation on sentencing guidelines to be used by the Crown Court and magistrates’ courts in England and Wales when sentencing firearms offences. The consultation is aimed at judges, magistrates, legal practitioners and others interested in the sentencing of these offences. The consultation runs from 9 October 2019 to...

The new General guideline for sentencing offences that do not have a specific sentencing guideline, published by the Sentencing Council, comes into force today (1 October 2019) in all courts across England and Wales. The General guideline will also be used with offence specific sentencing guidelines where some factors are not covered and overarching guidance...

New sentencing guidelines for offenders guilty of arson and criminal damage offences across England and Wales come into force today (1 October 2019). The guidelines, published by the Sentencing Council, will see the courts take full account of the harm caused by offences such as arson attacks on historic buildings or criminal damage leading to...

A new judicial member has been appointed to the Sentencing Council by the Lord Chief Justice, with the agreement of the Lord Chancellor. District Judge Michael Fanning has been appointed with effect from 1 September 2019. More information about Council members can be found here.

We have published a report of research carried out to help the Council better understand public attitudes towards, and understanding of, sentencing and the criminal justice system. Public confidence is fundamental to the operation of the criminal justice system. The Sentencing Council has a statutory duty to have regard to the need to promote public...

Judges and magistrates across England and Wales will have access to expanded explanations embedded in offence specific guidelines. The expanded explanations add extra information to aggravating and mitigating factors to make it easier for courts to maintain consistency and transparency in sentencing. They are designed to reflect and encourage current best practice rather than to...

Judges and magistrates across England and Wales hand down sentences to over 1 million offenders a year for criminal offences. To make sure that there is a consistent approach to sentences given to offenders wherever they are, the Sentencing Council produces offence specific guidelines which courts must follow unless it is not in the interest...

Judges and magistrates in criminal courts across England and Wales will have a new General guideline for sentencing offences that are not covered by a specific sentencing guideline from 1 October 2019. The General guideline, published today by the Sentencing Council, will ensure that judges and magistrates follow a structured and consistent sentencing process. Since...

The Sentencing Council has published its ninth annual report outlining activities from April 2018 to March 2019. The report is Lord Justice Holroyde’s first report as Chairman of the Sentencing Council. It documents the Council’s achievements of the past year, which include: publishing four definitive guidelines, all of which have come into effect: Breach Offences;...

We are pleased that the Secretary of State for Justice has announced the reappointment of Rosina Cottage QC to the Sentencing Council for three years. Rosina was appointed to the Council on 18 July 2016 with specific responsibility to represent defence practitioners.

New sentencing guidelines that will see the courts take full account of the harm caused by offences such as arson attacks on historic buildings or criminal damage leading to severe disruption of public services were published today by the Sentencing Council. For the first time, all courts in England and Wales will have formal guidance...

Today we have published new sentencing guidelines for arson and criminal damage offences that will see the courts take full account of the harm caused by offences such as arson attacks on historic buildings or criminal damage leading to severe disruption of public services. The new guidelines introduce guidance for both magistrates’ courts and the...

The Council has established a new process for recording minor revisions and corrections that are made to the digital guidelines. From 29 May, we will be publishing a log of minor changes that will allow users to track any amendments that have been made throughout the history of a guideline. The log will date back...

Between 23 April and 30 September 2019, the Sentencing Council is asking magistrates and district judges to fill out an online sentencing form every time you sentence one of five offences/orders: bladed article/offensive weapon (possession); harassment (s2) and stalking (s2A); breach of a community order; breach of a suspended sentence order; and breach of a...

The Sentencing Council has launched a consultation on its proposed guideline on sentencing offenders with mental health conditions or disorders. The consultation on the proposed Overarching Principles: Sentencing Offenders with Mental Health Conditions or Disorders guideline runs from 9 April 2019 to 9 July 2019. In its final form, judges and magistrates in England and...

Proposed guidance for sentencing offenders with mental health conditions and disorders was published today in a consultation launched by the Sentencing Council. When the guidance is published in its final form, judges and magistrates in England and Wales will, for the first time, have a clear structure and process to follow when sentencing people with...

Diana Fawcett has been appointed as a non-judicial member of the Sentencing Council with specific responsibility for promoting the welfare of victims of crime. She was appointed to the Council by the Lord Chancellor in consultation with the Lord Chief Justice for three years from 5 April 2019. Diana is Chief Officer of Victim Support....

Fines for large organisations sentenced for health and safety offences have increased as had been anticipated following the introduction of new sentencing guidelines, figures published by the Sentencing Council show. An impact assessment of the Health and Safety Offences, Corporate Manslaughter and Food Safety and Hygiene Offences guideline for England and Wales, which came into...

The Sentencing Council today launched a consultation on plans to provide expanded explanations in offence specific guidelines in England and Wales. The expanded explanations will embed additional information in digital guidelines and are designed to reflect and encourage current best practice rather than to alter sentencing practice. The consultation runs from 28 February to 23...

The Sentencing Council has completed an assessment of the impact of the Robbery Definitive Guideline which came into force in April 2016. The assessment found that after the guideline, which applies to adults only, came into effect average sentences rose beyond the upper limit of what would be expected from normal fluctuations in sentencing. The...

The government has published the results of its Tailored Review of the Sentencing Council. The review found that the current delivery model of the Sentencing Council as an NDPB is still the most appropriate, that the Council’s functions are still required, and that the Council is effective and efficient in the delivery of its responsibilities....

The Sentencing Council has completed an assessment of the impact of the Theft Offences Definitive Guideline. The guideline, which came into force in February 2016, includes six guidelines for sentencing theft offences: general theft theft from a shop or stall handling stolen goods going equipped for theft or burglary abstracting electricity making off without payment....

We have published a new data resource for academics, researchers and others with an interest in the criminal justice system. Criminal justice statistics pulls together sources for the main, routinely produced statistical publications on crime and justice from the major government departments, including the Ministry of Justice, the Home Office and the Office for National...

From today, sentencing guidelines used in the Crown Court are available online for judges, legal practitioners and other visitors to the Sentencing Council website. The launch of the Crown Court guidelines online marks the latest step in the Council’s programme to deliver guidelines in a digital format that is immediately accessible, quick and easy to...

The Sentencing Council is looking to appoint two Non-Judicial members with experience of the criminal justice system, specifically in the promotion of the welfare of victims of crime or as a senior police officer. Full details, including the candidate information pack, are available on the Cabinet Office website. The closing date for applications is midday...

From Thursday 8 November, sentencing guidelines used in the Crown Court will be available online for judges, legal practitioners and other visitors to the Sentencing Council website. The launch of the Crown Court guidelines online marks the latest step in the Council’s programme to deliver guidelines in a digital format that is accessible, quick and...

The Sentencing Council has completed an impact assessment of the Sexual Offences Definitive Guideline. The guideline, which came into force in April 2014, covers over 50 offences including rape, assault by penetration, sexual assault, sexual activity with a child and indecent images. The guideline appears to have achieved its aim to make sentencing practice more...

The Sentencing Council and the Centre for the Study of Legal Professional Practice, City Law School, invite you to a seminar on Wednesday 7 November 2018. This one-day event will explore how sentencing researchers, academics and the Council can work together more closely on areas of mutual interest. To book a free place, please contact:...

Today, the Sentencing Council has published a new guideline for how those guilty of child cruelty offences should be sentenced. It covers three offences: cruelty to a child; causing or allowing a child to die or suffer serious physical harm; and failing to protect a girl from the risk of female genital mutilation (FGM). When...

The Sentencing Council has published a definitive guideline on sentencing child cruelty. The new guideline, which has been issued following a public consultation, will come into effect on 1 January 2019. A press notice is available from here.

The Sentencing Council for England and Wales, in collaboration with the Centre for the Study of Legal Professional Practice at the City Law School, City, University of London, invite you to a seminar on Wednesday 7th November 2018 from 10am to 4pm. This one-day event will give delegates an opportunity to find out more about...

The Sentencing Council has published new guidelines for manslaughter offences today, which set out for the first time comprehensive guidance for courts sentencing these very serious and difficult cases. Since there are several types of manslaughter and sentences can differ very significantly for those convicted of it, we thought it would be helpful to write...

The Sentencing Council has published new guidelines for how offenders convicted of manslaughter should be sentenced in England and Wales. Publication today marks the first time that comprehensive guidelines have been drawn up for these very serious and difficult cases, which could range from an unintended death resulting from an assault, to a workplace fatality...

The Sentencing Council has published a definitive guideline on manslaughter. The new guideline, which has been issued following a public consultation, will come into effect on 1 November 2018. A press notice is available from here.

The Sentencing Council has published its eighth annual report outlining activities from April 2017 to March 2018. The report sets out what the Council has achieved during the year, which includes publishing three definitive guidelines: Overarching Principles: Domestic Abuse; Bladed Articles and Offensive Weapons; Terrorism Offences. The report also covers the four consultations we ran...

Lord Justice Tim Holroyde has been appointed as Chairman of the Sentencing Council, with effect from 1 August 2018. His appointment was made by the Lord Chief Justice with the agreement of the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, David Gauke, and is for an initial period of three years. The Lord Chief...

The Sentencing Council has published new definitive guidelines for intimidatory offences today, covering harassment, stalking, disclosing private sexual images, controlling or coercive behaviour, and threats to kill. Until now, there has only been very limited guidance in this area of offending. There has been some for magistrates’ courts on harassment and threats to kill, but...

The Sentencing Council has published a definitive guideline on intimidatory offences. The new guideline, which has been issued following a public consultation, will come into effect on 1 October 2018. A press notice is available from here.

We have issued an update to the dwelling robbery definitive guideline to correct an error. The only change is the text above the sentence table has changed from ‘in excess of 13 years’ to ‘in excess of 16 years’ on page 17 of the guideline. This is to correct an error identified in R v...

The Sentencing Council has published a business plan setting out its aims and objectives for 2018/19. These aims and objectives include publishing definitive guidelines on Breach Offences, Intimidatory Offences (including stalking, as well as the new offences of controlling or coercive behaviour and disclosing private sexual images), Manslaughter and Child cruelty and continuing work to...

In reports about crimes where money or property are taken, “theft”, “burglary” and “robbery” are terms often used interchangeably. There are, however, very clear differences between these offences. Put very simply, someone is guilty of robbery if he steals from a person using force or makes them think force will be used. Theft means taking...

The Council has published an assessment of its Fraud, Bribery and Money Laundering Definitive Guideline, which came into force in October 2014. It can be accessed here.

Since publication of the Drug Offences guideline in 2012, there has been an increase in the number of cases before the courts involving newer drugs, such as synthetic opioids, which may have much higher potency and potential to cause harm than more common drugs. In addition, some new offences have been created, for example, those...

The Sentencing Council has published a consultation on a proposed new General sentencing guideline for use when sentencing offences for which there is no existing guideline. It is designed to provide guidance for sentencing a very wide range of offences with very different characteristics and very different maximum sentences and could include blackmail, wildlife offences...

The Sentencing Council has launched a consultation on a General sentencing guideline for use when sentencing offences for which there is no existing guideline. Find out more about the consultation exercise. Read the press release.

Today, the Sentencing Council has published new guidelines for judges and magistrates for when they are sentencing offenders who have breached court orders. The guidelines provide a clear approach which will mean a tightening up of the way courts deal with offenders who have not complied with a wide range of orders such as suspended...

The Sentencing Council has published a definitive guideline on breach offences. The new guideline, which has been issued following a public consultation, will come into effect on 1 October 2018. A press notice is available from here.

The Council has published an assessment of its drug offences sentencing guideline which came into force in February 2012. It can be accessed here.

The Sentencing Council has launched a consultation on its proposed guidelines on sentencing Public Order offences. Find out more about the consultation exercise. Read the press release.

Today, the Sentencing Council has published proposed new guidelines covering public order offences sentenced in England and Wales. In simple terms, these offences involve the use of or threat of violence by individuals or groups of people towards others usually in a public place. They span a wide range of offending from low-level disorderly behaviour,...

On 2 May 2018, Lord Justice Treacy, Chairman of the Sentencing Council, wrote to the Editor of the Times. His letter responded to articles published by the paper relating to the Council’s guideline on Imposition of Community and Custodial Sentences and the Chairman’s message of 3 April to sentencers reminding them of the requirements to...

Two new judicial members have been appointed to the Sentencing Council by the Lord Chief Justice, with the agreement of the Lord Chancellor: Her Honour Judge Rosa Dean, Crown Court judge, and Rob Butler JP, magistrate.

Alpa Parmar and Beverley Thompson-Brown have been appointed by the Lord Chancellor in consultation with the Lord Chief Justice as non-judicial members of the Sentencing Council for England and Wales for a period of 3 years. Beverley Thompson-Brown will start on 15 June.

Sentencing guidelines for terrorism offences have come into force today in courts in England and Wales. The guidelines, which were published in March, have been introduced to deal with the changing nature of terrorist offending and to ensure that courts have the guidance they need to deal with these serious and difficult cases, punishing offenders...

Earlier this month, the Chairman of the Sentencing Council, Lord Justice Treacy, wrote to all sentencers to remind them of the requirement to follow the Council’s Imposition of Community and Custodial Sentences Definitive Guideline, which has been in force since February 2017. Courts are statutorily bound to follow sentencing guidelines unless it is in the...

In 2017 the Sentencing Council commissioned an independent academic to carry out an internal review to support the Council in considering how best it could exercise its statutory functions and to make recommendations on areas of work it might want to consider taking forward in the future. The work was undertaken by Professor Sir Anthony...

The Sentencing Council is recruiting a non-judicial member for the promotion of the welfare of victims of crime. They must have knowledge or understanding of the criminal justice sector, specifically through current active involvement in the field of the promotion of the welfare of victims of crime. The closing date for applications is midday on...

New sentencing guidelines for terrorism offences have been published today, marking the first time that comprehensive guidance has been produced for courts in England and Wales. The guidelines have been introduced to deal with the changing nature of terrorist offending and to ensure that courts have the guidance they need to deal with these serious...

The Sentencing Council has published a definitive guideline on terrorism offences. The new guideline, which has been issued following a public consultation, will come into effect on 27 April 2018. A press notice is available from here.

The Sentencing Council has published proposed new guidelines covering arson and criminal damage offences. The guidelines, for courts in England and Wales, will help ensure consistent and proportionate sentencing for these offences. These offences can vary greatly in seriousness. Arson can range from a small fire set in a street litter bin to a carefully...

The Sentencing Council has launched a consultation on its proposed guidelines on sentencing arson and criminal damage. Find out more about the consultation exercise. Read the press notice.

The Council has published its assessment of the impact that its allocation guideline has had since its introduction in March 2016. The aim of the guideline was to increase the proportion of “either way” cases – those that can be heard in the magistrates’ courts or Crown Court being kept in the former, but it...

The Sentencing Council has published a definitive guideline on bladed articles and offensive weapons offences. The new guideline, which has been issued following a public consultation, will come into effect on 1 June 2018. A press notice is available from here.

The Sentencing Council has published a new guideline for the sentencing of offenders convicted of the possession of a bladed article or offensive weapon, such as acid, in public, and of using one to threaten someone. The new guideline will help ensure consistency in sentencing and that sentence levels reflect Parliament’s concern about the social...

The Sentencing Council has published a definitive guideline on the overarching principles of sentencing domestic abuse. The new guideline, which has been issued following a public consultation, will come into effect on 24 May 2018. A press notice is available from here.

A new domestic abuse sentencing guideline has been published today (22 February), giving courts up to date guidance that emphasises the seriousness of this kind of offending. The guideline identifies the principles relevant to the sentencing of cases involving domestic abuse, outlines how the seriousness of offences should be assessed and highlights other factors that...

There are three basic types of assault offence set out in law – common assault, actual bodily harm (ABH) and wounding / grievous bodily harm (GBH). They are primarily defined by the harm caused to the victim – with common assault at the lower end of harm and GBH at the upper end. They cover...

Explanatory guidance for sentencing offences of sexual exploitation under section 2 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 has now been included in the Sexual Offences guidelines: The Sexual Offence guidelines published by the Sentencing Council in 2014 include a guideline for sentencing the offence of trafficking people for sexual exploitation. This offence was created by...

The Sentencing Council has published its seventh annual report outlining activities from April 2016 to March 2017. The report sets out what the Council has achieved during the year, which includes publishing three definitive guidelines: Reduction in Sentencing for a Guilty Plea; Sentencing Children and Young People and Imposition of Community and Custodial Sentences. The...

The Sentencing Council is looking for two exceptional applicants with knowledge or understanding of the Criminal Justice sector either through current involvement in the field of rehabilitation of offenders or within the academic study or research relating to criminal law or criminology. Full details, including the candidate information pack, are available on the Cabinet Office...

Today, the Sentencing Council has published its proposals for how those convicted of terrorism offences in England and Wales should be sentenced. In the first comprehensive guidance that has been produced for courts, the Council has set out proposed sentencing guidelines for dealing with offenders guilty of a wide range of terrorism offences. These include...

The Sentencing Council has launched a consultation on its proposed guidelines on sentencing terrorism offences. Find out more about the consultation exercise. Read the press release.

The Sentencing Council has published a business plan setting out its aims and objectives for 2017/18. These aims and objectives include publishing three definitive guidelines: Breach Offences, Bladed Articles and Offensive Weapons and Terrorism, and continuing work to prepare, and consult on, seven proposed guidelines covering: intimidatory offences; offences where domestic abuse is a feature;...

In response to the Law Commission's proposals to simplify the law relating to sentencing, Sentencing Council chairman Lord Justice Treacy said: "We welcome the Law Commission’s proposals to simplify sentencing law. Currently, it is overly complex, which causes inefficiency and can prevent people understanding this important part of criminal justice. "Their proposed approach to reforming...

Reports of assaults and robberies involving the use of acid or other corrosive substances have increased in profile recently, with questions being asked as to how offenders who attack or threaten people with such substances are dealt with by the courts. In its guidelines for judges and magistrates, the Sentencing Council is clear that use...

The Council has published an assessment of its burglary sentencing guideline which came into force in January 2012. It follows an initial assessment published in 2016 and details the results of further analysis on the impact of the guideline. It can be accessed here.

Today, the Sentencing Council has announced a consultation on its proposals for how offenders convicted of manslaughter should be sentenced in England and Wales. It is the first time that comprehensive guidelines have been drawn up for these very serious and difficult cases, which could include an unintended death resulting from an assault or a...

The Sentencing Council has launched a consultation on its proposed guidelines on sentencing manslaughter. Find out more about the consultation exercise. Read the press release.

Today, the Sentencing Council has published proposed new guidelines for sentencing offenders guilty of child cruelty. The guidelines cover three offences: cruelty to a child, causing or allowing a child to die or suffer serious physical harm, and failing to protect a girl from the risk of female genital mutilation (FGM). The draft guidelines, which...

The Sentencing Council has launched a consultation on its proposed guidelines on sentencing child cruelty. Find out more about the consultation exercise. Read the press release.

The revised guidelines on sentencing children and young people and reduction in sentence for a guilty plea have come into effect today (1 June 2017). The guidelines are available here: Sentencing children and young people Reduction in sentence for a guilty plea

The revised guidelines in the Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Guidelines have come into effect today (24 April 2017). The online Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Guidelines are available here.

New sentencing guidelines for magistrates come into force on 24 April 2017 following their publication earlier this year. One of the offences covered is speeding and sentence levels are changing for the most serious offences, with a new higher penalty being introduced for those offenders who drive at speeds excessively above legal limits. Read more...

New sentencing guidelines for magistrates come into force on 24 April 2017 following their publication earlier this year. One of the offences covered is speeding and sentence levels are changing for the most serious offences, with a new higher penalty being introduced for those offenders who drive at speeds excessively above legal limits. This change...

A new judicial member has been appointed to the Sentencing Council by the Lord Chief Justice, with the agreement of the Lord Chancellor. District Judge Rebecca Crane has been appointed with effect from 1 April 2017. More information about Council members can be found here.

The Sentencing Council has launched a consultation on its proposed guidelines on sentencing intimidatory offences and domestic abuse. Find out more about the consultation exercise. Read the press release.

Today, the Sentencing Council has published proposed new guidelines for how people convicted of intimidatory offences and offences involving domestic abuse should be sentenced. The intimidatory offences guideline covers harassment, stalking, disclosing private sexual images, controlling or coercive behaviour, and threats to kill. The domestic abuse guideline covers all offences which occur within a domestic...

Today, the Sentencing Council is publishing two definitive guidelines, on sentencing children and young people and reduction in sentence for a guilty plea. Read the press release. View all related documents.

Today, the Sentencing Council has published two new sentencing guidelines. One covers how courts should make a reduction in sentence for offenders who admit their guilt, and the other deals with the approach they should take when sentencing children and young people. The two guidelines have been published at the same time since the children...

The Sentencing Council guideline on imposition is effective in all courts from today, 1 February 2017. This clarifies that suspended sentences should be imposed only when custody is actually intended and not as a more severe form of community order.

The Sentencing Council has published revised guidelines for offences in the Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Guidelines. The guidelines apply to all offenders aged 18 and older who are sentenced on or after 24 April 2017, regardless of the date of the offence. The revised guidelines are available on the offence pages and can be viewed here...

Today, new sentencing guidelines have been published that will be used in all magistrates courts in England and Wales. Magistrates’ courts deal with lower level offences and hear the vast majority of criminal cases that come before the courts. The new guidelines cover the very varied range of offences they handle, including some motoring offences...

The Sentencing Council has today published a research report by Natcen Social Research. This examines the sentencing data available in magistrates’ courts to support the future development, monitoring and evaluation of sentencing guidelines.

Today the Sentencing Council is launching guidance for sentencing cases of ‘drug driving’. The guidance is to assist those sentencing offences of driving, attempting to drive or being in charge of a motor vehicle with a concentration of a specified controlled drug in the body above the specified limit (Section 5A Road Traffic Act 1988)....

The Sentencing Council has published the results of its analysis into the impact of its guidelines on environmental offences, introduced in 2014, on the types of sentences courts are giving offenders and the level of fines applied. The Council has a statutory duty to monitor the operation and effect of its sentencing guidelines. Analysis was...

The Sentencing Council has published its sixth annual report outlining activities from April 2015 to March 2016. The report details the Council’s work on guidelines covering: dangerous dog offences, allocation, theft, health and safety, corporate manslaughter and food hygiene, robbery, imposition and guilty pleas. It also covers the Council’s ongoing analysis and research into sentencing,...

Today we began a programme of data collection for robbery offences in the Crown Court, as part of the Sentencing Council’s analysis and research strategy. The Council concluded the Crown Court Sentencing Survey in March 2015 and has replaced it with shorter, offence-specific data collection exercises in both the Crown and magistrates’ courts. This data...

Today, the Sentencing Council is publishing updated guidance for courts about the process that should be followed when deciding whether offenders should be given community or custodial sentences. At the same time, it has launched a consultation on its proposed sentencing guidelines for judges and magistrates when they are dealing with offenders who have breached...

Today, the Sentencing Council is publishing updated definitive guidance for courts about the process that should be followed when deciding whether offenders should be given community or custodial sentences. At the same time, it is announcing proposed new guidelines for judges and magistrates when they are dealing with offenders who have breached court orders, such...

The Sentencing Council has published an update to its published business plan. The update summarises changes, in particular to the timing of the publication of consultations and definitive guidelines.

The Sentencing Council has launched a consultation on its proposed sentencing guideline on bladed articles and offensive weapons offences. Find out more about the consultation exercise. Read the press release.

The Sentencing Council has announced its proposals for new guidelines covering a number of offences involving knives and other weapons. The proposals cover the sentencing of offenders convicted of the possession of a bladed article or offensive weapon in public, and of using one to threaten someone. They do not cover offences where a knife...

A new non-judicial member has been appointed to the Sentencing Council by the Lord Chancellor, in consultation with the Lord Chief Justice. Chief Constable Simon Byrne MA QPM has been appointed with effect for 3 years from 1 September 2016. Further information can be found here.

By Lauren Bowes, Senior Researcher From the 19th September to December 2016, the Sentencing Council will begin the final phase of a data collection exercise for the offence of theft from a shop or stall, across 80 magistrates’ courts in England and Wales. Magistrates and district judges will fill out a form every time they...

New content on some aspects of sentencing has been added to the information for victims section of the site. There are new pages outlining what happens at a sentencing hearing, what can happen at the end of a trial and how decisions are made as to whether a case should be heard in the magistrates’...

The Sentencing Council has received over 180 responses from individuals and organisations to its consultation on a revised guideline for reductions in sentence for a guilty plea. The consultation closed on 5 May 2016. It is grateful for the level of interest and for the detailed responses received. The responses and consultation events have raised...

By Jill Gramann, Magistrate member of the Sentencing Council When judges and magistrates are faced with offenders who have targeted victims who have disabilities, the law and sentencing guidelines are clear: courts are obliged to treat this as an aggravating factor which will increase the sentence given. It is sometimes asked, however, how sentencing is...

The revised guidelines on the sentencing of dangerous dogs offences has come into effect today (1 July 2016). The guideline is available here. The online Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Guidelines have been updated.

An offline version of the Magistrates' Court Sentencing Guidelines has been developed to ensure that the guidelines are accessible even if wifi is unavailable in court. This is available for an iPad free of charge from the App Store. It is available from here. The content is identical to the online guidelines. This is a...

A new non-judicial member has been appointed to the Sentencing Council by the Lord Chancellor, in consultation with the Lord Chief Justice. Rosina Cottage QC has been appointed with effect for 3 years from 18 July 2016. Further information can be found here.

We have provided a new fines calculator. This has been updated to take account of changes to surcharge values, and provides users with the option of using the old and new values subject to the date of the offence. The new calculator also provides improved functionality - we are very grateful to the users of...

The Sentencing Council has launched a consultation on draft revised guidelines for summary offences in the Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Guidelines. Find out more about the consultation exercise. Read the press release.

The Sentencing Council has published proposals for revisions to some of the magistrates’ court sentencing guidelines. The revisions will cover sentencing for “summary only” offences, that is, those that can only be dealt with in the magistrates’ courts, and they are the first stage of a general revision of all magistrates’ guidelines. The aim is...

We have issued an update to the money laundering definitive guideline to correct a technical error. The only change is that the starting point is now 6 years for offences of medium culpability where the value is £2 million - £10 million. The updated guideline can be found here.

The Sentencing Council has launched a consultation on its proposed guideline on sentencing youths. Find out more about the consultation exercise. Read the press release.

Today, the Sentencing Council has published a consultation on sentencing young offenders. Its proposals are in two parts: the overall approach courts should take when sentencing young offenders aged between 10 and 17; and draft sentencing guidelines covering robbery and sexual offences committed by young offenders. It aims to provide judges and magistrates with up-to-date...

The Sentencing Council is looking for a senior police officer to join the Council as a non-Judicial member. Full details, including the candidate information pack, were available on the Cabinet Office website. The closing date for applications is midday on 9 May 2016.

A new judicial member has been appointed to the Sentencing Council by the Lord Chief Justice, with the agreement of the Lord Chancellor. Mrs Justice Kate Thirlwall, a judge of the High Court, has been appointed with effect from 6 April 2016.

There are increases to the victim surcharge for offences committed on or after 8 April 2016. For more information on the new levels for all courts see here. For detailed information on how the surcharge applies in magistrates’ courts see here.

The guideline on the sentencing of robbery has come into effect today (1 April 2016). The guideline is available here. The existing robbery guideline for young offenders will continue to remain in force until such time as it is replaced by new youth guidelines.

The Sentencing Council has published a revised guideline for judges and magistrates on the sentencing of dangerous dog offences. The new guideline, which has been issued following a public consultation, will come into effect on 1 July 2016. A press notice is available from here.

Watch the Chairman of the Sentencing Council, Lord Justice Treacy, introduce the guideline: The Sentencing Council has published new guidelines today for how courts should sentence people convicted of dangerous dog offences. The guidelines cover offences where a dog injures or kills a person, where it injures an assistance dog or where someone possesses a...

Today (1 March 2016) the Chairman of the Sentencing Council, Lord Justice Treacy, updated the Justice Select Committee on the work of the Sentencing Council at a one-off evidence session. The session can be viewed from here.

The revised allocation guideline has come into effect today (1 March 2016). The guideline is available here.

The principle that guilty pleas should be taken into account in sentencing is nothing new - Parliament has set this in law. The purpose of reducing sentences when offenders plead guilty is to get them to admit their guilt as early as possible. When they do, it saves victims and witnesses the stress of going...

The Sentencing Council has launched a consultation on its proposed guideline for reduction in sentence for a guilty plea. Find out more about the consultation exercise. Read the press release.

Today, the Sentencing Council has announced proposals to introduce stricter guidance for courts when they sentence offenders who have admitted their guilt. A new draft guideline sets out a clearer, fairer and more consistent approach to managing guilty pleas that will incentivise offenders to admit their guilt as early as possible in the court process....

The Sentencing Council is looking for an exceptional applicant with current experience of criminal defence practice, preferably in both the higher and lower courts. Full details, including the candidate information pack, were available on the Cabinet Office website. The closing date for applications was extended to midday on 19 February 2016.

The sentencing guideline on the sentencing of sexual offences has been updated to take account of legislative changes to sections 48, 49, and 50 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. The changes relate to a change in terminology and now use the term ‘sexual exploitation of a child’ to replace references to ‘child prostitution’ and...

The sentencing guidelines on the sentencing of theft offences and health and safety offences, corporate manslaughter and food safety and hygiene offences have come into force today (1 February 2016). The online Magistrates' Court Sentencing Guidelines have been updated.

The Sentencing Council has published a new guideline for judges and magistrates on the sentencing of robbery. The new guideline, which has been issued following a public consultation, will come into effect on 1 April 2016. A press notice is available from here.

Today, the Sentencing Council has announced new sentencing guidelines for robbery offences which will help courts to sentence all types of offender, from a street mugger to a gang guilty of a major heist. The guidelines have been introduced to ensure courts have comprehensive guidance covering all types of robberies committed by adults in England...

The Sentencing Council has published its initial assessment of the impact of its burglary guideline on sentencing trends, under its statutory duty to monitor the operation and effect of its sentencing guidelines and to draw conclusions from this information. Further work to explore the findings from this initial assessment will be undertaken and the outcome...

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

The Sentencing Council has launched a consultation on proposed guidelines for the imposition of community and custodial sentences. Find out more about the consultation exercise. Read the press release.

The Sentencing Council has launched its consultation on a new guideline for the imposition of community and custodial sentences - that is, the process for deciding when these types of sentence should be imposed. Existing guidance issued by the Council’s predecessor body entitled New Sentences - Criminal Justice Act 2003 is now out of date...

The Sentencing Council has published resources for teachers delivering the citizenship curriculum to key stage 3 and 4 pupils. These resources will help pupils develop an understanding of how criminal sentencing works in England and Wales and give them the opportunity to try sentencing for themselves through interactive scenarios. They include a lesson framework, an...

By Michael Caplan With my position as the defence practitioner on the Sentencing Council due to end shortly, the Council is currently looking for someone to take on the role for the next three years. I have found it tremendously stimulating, enjoyable and extremely interesting. I have been able to put forward the defence view...

As more and more people are using eJudiciary to access their work, it should be noted that the Sentencing Council's website can be accessed via the 'External Websites' tile on the home page...

The Sentencing Council has published a revised definitive guideline for allocation, which will provide courts with guidance on whether cases should be dealt with in magistrates’ courts or the Crown Court. This will enable them to ensure that cases are tried and sentenced at the appropriate level. The guideline will come into effect on 1...

Lord Justice Treacy, chairman of the Sentencing Council, delivered a keynote speech at the Criminal Law Review Conference on Thursday 3 December. The main themes in the speech are on how the Sentencing Council: contributes to justice reform and efficiency; helps those working on complex offences; ensures the consideration of victims within the sentencing process;...

By Lauren Bowes, Senior Researcher This month we began a targeted assessment of the impact and implementation of our theft and drugs guidelines, following the decision earlier this year to end the Crown Court Sentencing Survey (CCSS). The aim of this approach is to carry out focussed, “guideline-specific” data collection in both magistrates’ courts and...

The Sentencing Council has published an update to its published business plan. The update summarises changes, in particular to the timing of the publication of consultations and definitive guidelines.

The Sentencing Council has published a new guideline for judges and magistrates on the sentencing of health and safety offences, corporate manslaughter and food safety and hygiene offences. View related documents on health and safety offences, corporate manslaughter and food safety and hygiene offences here. The new guideline, which has been issued following a public...

New sentencing guidelines have been published today aiming to ensure a consistent, fair and proportionate approach to sentencing organisations or individuals convicted of corporate manslaughter, health and safety and food safety and hygiene offences. Offences that come under the guidelines are very varied and could include a building firm that causes the death of an...

The Sentencing Council has published its fifth annual report outlining activities from April 2014 to March 2015. The report details the Council’s work on guidelines covering: fraud; theft; robbery; health and safety, corporate manslaughter and food hygiene; and dangerous dog offences. It also covers the Council’s ongoing analysis and research into sentencing, as well as...

The Sentencing Council has today published its assessment of the impact and implementation of its assault guideline, under its statutory duty to monitor the operation and effect of its sentencing guidelines and to draw conclusions from this information. The assessment also reflects the Council’s approach of seeking to improve its work through consultation and evaluation....

Today, the Sentencing Council has published new guidelines for how offenders convicted of theft should be sentenced. Theft is one of the most common offences that courts deal with - more than 91,000 offenders were sentenced last year. The guidelines will apply to the full range of theft offences, such as shop theft, pick-pocketing, handling...

The Sentencing Council has published a new guideline for judges and magistrates on the sentencing of theft offences. The new guideline, which has been issued following a public consultation, will come into effect on 1 February 2016. A press notice is available from here.

By Jill Gramann, Magistrate member of the Sentencing Council and Chair of the Kidderminster Bench from 2011 to 2013. This article also appeared in Magistrate magazine. I am pleased to be the bearer of good news – the Sentencing Council has completed its work to create online sentencing guidelines for magistrates. For the first time,...

The Sentencing Council has completed its work to create online sentencing guidelines for magistrates. Visit the new MCSG pages of our website to access the full set of sentencing guidelines as well as links to other material. The site offers free and unlimited access to guidelines with a guarantee that they will be up to...

The sexual offences definitive guideline has been updated to correct some minor errors in Annex C.

Mark Castle, Chief Executive of Victim Support, has been appointed by the Lord Chancellor Michael Gove to the Sentencing Council as its victims’ representative. The appointment is for an initial term of 3 years from 1 August 2015. He joined Victim Support last year from the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), where he...

The Sentencing Council has published the final set of results from the Crown Court Sentencing Survey, which collected information on the factors taken into account by judges in working out the appropriate sentence for an offender and the final sentence given. The results, which cover data gathered from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2014,...

The Sentencing Council has launched a consultation on proposed amendments to the allocation guideline. Further information can be found here.

Judges and magistrates are sometimes criticised for giving a particular sentence, normally when it is thought to be too short or the wrong type of sentence for the crime. They may as a result be accused of being out of touch or too soft, but sometimes this stems from a misunderstanding about the scope of...

Today the Lord Chancellor has announced the appointment of Martin Graham as a new non-judicial member of the Sentencing Council. The appointment is for an initial term of 3 years from 1 June 2015. Martin Graham has for several years been the national lead for the Probation Chiefs’ Association and more recently the Probation Institute...

Today, the Sentencing Council has published proposals for how courts should sentence people convicted of dangerous dog offences. The proposals follow changes to the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, which came into force last year. These made very substantial increases to the maximum sentences for these offences, extended the law to cover offences on private property...

The government has announced that from today magistrates will be able to give unlimited fines to offenders. This follows provisions in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act coming into effect which remove the £5,000 cap that applied to fines given by magistrates. Fines must still however take into account the financial means...

Two new judicial members have been appointed to the Sentencing Council by the Lord Chief Justice, with the agreement of the Lord Chancellor. Mr Justice Tim Holroyde, a judge of the High Court, and Ms Jill Gramann, a magistrate, have been appointed with effect from 6 April 2015, for initial terms of three years. Biographical...

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...

by Victoria Obudulu, Senior Statistician Our approach to researching and analysing sentencing data will be changing from the end of March when we move from using the existing Crown Court Sentencing Survey (CCSS) to focusing on specific offences or other guideline subject areas. The CCSS, the first survey of its kind to look at sentencing...

Following a review, the Sentencing Council has decided to stop gathering data using the Crown Court Sentencing Survey. Data collection will cease on 31 March 2015. In the future, we will conduct bespoke data collection in both the Crown Court and magistrates’ courts for specific guidelines. Courts will be approached to take part in these...

Recent trials for sex offences committed between the 1960s and 80s have raised many questions about how those convicted of historic offences are dealt with by the courts and how the consequences of such a passage of time between offence and sentence should be considered. The basic position when an offender is sentenced is that...

Reports about the sentencing of criminals sometimes refer to them as "walking free from court" if they are not sent to prison. This gives the false impression that unless someone is given an immediate jail sentence, they do not face any punishment or other consequence as a result of the offence they committed. This is...

This week, the Sentencing Council, facilitated by the Justice Committee, hosted an event with MPs and peers to highlight the work of the Council, talk about sentencing more generally and discuss any issues of concern to them or to their constituents. The event at Portcullis House, Westminster, was attended by a variety of ministers, MPs...

Proposed sentencing guidelines have been published today which will assist sentencers dealing with corporate manslaughter, health and safety and food safety and hygiene offences. The draft guidelines, now subject to public consultation, cover offences that embrace a wide range of circumstances. The type of offenders that may commit these offences varies greatly and, with the...

The Sentencing Council has launched a consultation on its proposed guidelines for judges and magistrates to use when sentencing people for health and safety offences, corporate manslaughter, food safety and hygiene offences. Read the press release.

Today, the Sentencing Council has published its proposals for how robbers should be sentenced by the courts. A new sentencing guideline is being produced so judges have comprehensive guidance to ensure consistent and proportionate sentences for the great variety of offenders that come before them. The draft guideline covers all robbery offences committed by adults:...

Claire Fielder, currently Private Secretary to the Lord Chief Justice on criminal justice matters, has been appointed as the new head of the Office of the Sentencing Council. She replaces Michelle Crotty who takes up a new position at the Attorney General's Office. Claire has considerable experience of the criminal justice system, both in the...

The Sentencing Council has published its fourth annual report outlining activities from April 2013 to March 2014. The report details the Council’s work on guidelines covering: sexual offences, fraud offences, environmental offences and theft offences. It also covers ongoing research, including the Crown Court Sentencing Survey. A copy of the report is available.

The Sentencing Council has launched a consultation on its proposed guidelines for judges to use when sentencing people for robbery. Read the press release.

Following a period of training and implementation the definitive guideline on fraud, bribery and money laundering offences came into effect on 1 October 2014.

A new judicial member has been appointed to the Sentencing Council by the Lord Chief Justice, with the agreement of the Lord Chancellor. His Honour Judge Julian Goose QC is a representative from the Crown Court on the Council from 1 July 2014. More information about Council members can be found here.

The new guideline for environmental offences comes into force today. It covers a variety of offences including those related to the disposal of waste and rubbish and pollution offences, mostly covered by the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010.

The Council has published its results bulletin presenting the findings of the Crown Court Sentencing Survey for sentences passed by the Crown Court in 2013. The findings and further information on the Crown Court Sentencing Survey can be found here.

The consultation on the Sentencing Council’s draft guideline on theft offences will close on 26 June and the Council would like to encourage as many people or organisations to give their views. Submissions to the consultation can be made by email, post or by an online survey.

The Sentencing Council has published a new guideline for judges and magistrates on the sentencing of fraud, bribery and money laundering offences. The new guideline, which has been issued following a public consultation, will come into effect on 1 October 2014. A press notice is available from here.

The Sentencing Council has published a new guideline for how people convicted of fraud, money laundering and bribery should be sentenced. It aims to provide clear guidance to judges and magistrates and will help promote a consistent approach to the sentencing of these offences in courts in England and Wales. The Council has ensured that...

Three training providers currently have webinars available to view, which cover the key changes in the new sentencing guideline on sex offences. Participants will earn CPD points. Find out more about the webinars.

The Sentencing Council has launched a 12-week consultation on its proposed guidelines for judges and magistrates to use when sentencing people for theft offences. Read the press release.

Today, the Sentencing Council is announcing its proposals for a new sentencing guideline for theft offences. The draft guideline covers a wide variety of types of theft such as pick-pocketing, shop theft, handling stolen goods, car theft, leaving a restaurant or petrol station without paying and stealing by employees or care workers. It also includes...

Following a period of training and implementation the definitive guideline on sexual offences came into effect on 1 April 2014. Versions for the Crown Court and magistrates' courts are available.

The Sentencing Council has sent a response to Civitas following the publication earlier this month of its report "Serious, Violent and Persistent Offenders" due to our concerns about its use of statistics and the need to clarify the Council's accountability to Parliament. You can read our response here.

Today, the Sentencing Council is publishing a new guideline for judges and magistrates on the sentencing of environmental offences. The new guideline, which has been issued following a public consultation, will come into effect on 1 July 2014. A press notice is available from here.

The way people committing environmental offences are sentenced is changing, with a new guideline for judges and magistrates published today by the Sentencing Council. This is the first time a guideline has been produced for these offences. It covers offences like fly-tipping and waste crimes, is likely to lead to larger fines for serious offenders,...

The Sentencing Council has published a new sentencing guideline for the sentencing of organisations convicted of fraud, money laundering and bribery offences. The guideline is part of the wider development of overall guidelines for all fraud offences committed by individuals, which will be published in the summer, following a 2013 public consultation. The guideline aims...

The Sentencing Council has published a new guideline for judges and magistrates on the sentencing of sexual offences. The new guideline, which has been issued following a public consultation, will come into effect on 1 April 2014. A press notice is available here.

The Sentencing Council has published a new sentencing guideline for sexual offences which will help ensure appropriate and consistent sentences for sex offenders. The guideline covers more than 50 offences including rape, child sex offences, indecent images of children, trafficking and voyeurism, and brings significant changes to how offences are considered by the courts. It...

Today, Lord Justice Treacy has been announced as the new chairman of the Sentencing Council. A member of the Council since it was established in 2010, his move to this role follows the announcement of previous chairman Lord Justice Leveson’s new role as President of the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court. His appointment...

The Sentencing Council has published its third annual report outlining activities from April 2012 to March 2013. The report details the Council’s work on guidelines covering: allocation, offences taken into consultation and totality; dangerous dog offences; fraud offences; sexual offences and environmental offences. It also covers ongoing research, including the Crown Court Sentencing Survey. A...

The Sentencing Council has announced new proposals for how people convicted of fraud, money laundering and bribery should be sentenced. The draft sentencing guidelines, which are likely to lead to tougher sentences for those who leave victims badly affected, aim to provide clear guidance on sentencing for these offences. This will help promote a consistent...

The Sentencing Council has launched a consultation on proposals for updating guidance for judges and magistrates when sentencing fraud, bribery and money laundering offences. Read the press release.

Mr Justice (John) Saunders has been appointed to the Council by the Lord Chief Justice with the agreement of the Lord Chancellor. He replaces Lord Justice Treacy following his elevation to the Court of Appeal and has been appointed for three years. Mr Justice Saunders was called to the Bar (Gray’s Inn) in 1972, and...

Following the announcement of a new judicial member to the Council last week, two new non-judicial members have now been appointed to the Sentencing Council by the Lord Chancellor as a number of existing members reach the end of their three year tenure. They are: Javed Khan, Chief Executive of Victim Support; and Michael Caplan,...

A new judicial member has been appointed to the Sentencing Council by the Lord Chief Justice, with the agreement of the Lord Chancellor. Her Honour Judge Sarah Munro QC will be a representative from the Crown Court on the Council from 6 April 2013. More information about Council members can be found here.

The Office of the Sentencing Council is now based at the Royal Courts of Justice. Our new contact details can be found here.

The Sentencing Council has launched a consultation on proposals for updating guidance for judges and magistrates when sentencing environmental offences. Read the press release. Read the summary announcement.

New proposals for how environmental offenders like fly-tippers should be sentenced have been launched today by the Sentencing Council. The draft sentencing guidelines, which could mean larger fines for serious offenders, aim to provide clear guidance on sentencing these offences so that there is a consistent approach in courts across England and Wales. They also...

On 13 March 2013, the Sentencing Council held the final rounds of its second sentencing competition. The aim of the competition was to raise awareness of the work of the Sentencing Council among aspiring law professionals, and to provide them with an opportunity to take part in the thinking behind the process. The competition was...

The deadline for expressions of interest from LPC and BPTC students for the Sentencing Council’s second Sentencing Competition has now passed. We are very pleased to have received over 200 entries and the entrants will receive the first (written) round this week. The final rounds will be held at The Royal Courts of Justice in...

The Sentencing Council is inviting current LPC and BPTC students to take part in its second mooting competition. The competition aims to promote awareness of sentencing, the use of the sentencing guidelines, and the work of the Sentencing Council among law students. Two winners will get mini pupillages at 25 Bedford Row Chambers and 2...

The Sentencing Council has launched a consultation on proposals for updating guidance for judges and magistrates when sentencing sexual offences. Read the press release. An overview by The Right Honourable Lord Justice Treacy (video)

The Sentencing Council has launched a consultation today on its proposals for how guidance for courts on sexual offences should be brought up to date. It aims to give more focus to the impact on victims and reflect advances in technology, while making sure offenders are dealt with effectively. Its draft sentencing guideline, which covers...

The Sentencing Council has won a Guardian Public Services award for work on its drug offences guideline. The award, for evidence-based policy making, was given last night for the research and analysis that went into the development of the guideline. This included interviews with drug mules currently in prison, focus groups with the public and...

The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice has announced the appointment of Chief Constable Lynne Owens as a non-judicial member of the Sentencing Council for England and Wales. Lynne Owens takes her place on Council with immediate effect, replacing Tim Godwin. Her appointment, which is interim, runs until April 2013. Since February 2012,...

The Sentencing Council has launched a short animated film for victims and witnesses of crime explaining how sentencing works and the types of sentence offenders can get. As well as being available to view online, it will also be used by Victim Support’s Witness Service volunteers at courts when they are helping victims and witnesses....

Update 9 to the Magistrates' Court Sentencing Guidelines (the update on the Victim Surcharge) has been published.

From 20 August 2012, courts in England and Wales will be adopting a tougher approach to the way those convicted of dangerous dog offences are treated as a new sentencing guideline comes into effect. Published on 15 May, this guideline now comes into force in all courts in England and Wales. With increasing numbers of...

Following a three month period of training and implementation the definitive guideline on dangerous dog offences came into effect on 20 August 2012.

The Sentencing Council has published its second annual report. The report outlines activities from April 2011 to March 2012. It includes details of the Council’s work on consulting on and developing several guidelines including drugs, burglary, an overarching guideline on three aspects of sentencing practice and dangerous dogs, the monitoring of the operation and effect...

The Sentencing Council's definitive guideline on allocation, offences taken into consideration and totality came into effect on 11 June 2012. As with its other guidelines, the Council recognises the need to ensure a consistency of approach across all the courts which will be using these guidelines, whilst being careful not to include material which would...

A tougher approach to the way those convicted of dangerous dog offences are treated by the courts is contained in a new guideline from the Sentencing Council published today. In recent years, there have been increasing numbers of convictions for offences involving dangerous dogs, and this new guideline helps ensure courts use their full powers...

The Sentencing Council has published a new guideline for judges and magistrates on the sentencing of dangerous dog offences. The new guideline, which has been issued following a 12-week public consultation, will come into effect on 20 August 2012. The Council has also published a response to the consultation which summarises some of the very...

The Sentencing Council has published definitive guidelines on three overarching aspects of sentencing: allocation, offences taken into consideration and totality. The guidelines, which will come into force in June, aim to ensure that the principles in each of these areas of sentencing practice are applied consistently in courts in England and Wales. Allocation concerns the...

The Sentencing Council has published definitive guidelines on three overarching aspects of sentencing: allocation, offences taken into consideration and totality. The guidelines, which have been issued following a 12 week public consultation, will come into effect on 11 June 2012. The Council has also published a response to the consultation which summarises some of the...

The new definitive guideline on drug offences will be used in all courts in England and Wales from 27 February 2012. The Sentencing Council’s guideline brings sentencing guidance together for the first time to help ensure consistent and proportionate sentencing and provide effective guidance for sentencers and clear information for victims, witnesses and the public...

Today the Sentencing Council has published a new definitive guideline on drug offences. It will bring sentencing guidance together for the first time to help to ensure consistent and proportionate sentencing for all drug offences that come before courts in England and Wales. The guideline covers the most commonly sentenced offences - importation, production, supply,...

The Sentencing Council has published a new guideline for judges and magistrates on the sentencing of drug offences. The new guideline, which has been issued following a 12-week public consultation, will come into effect on 27 February 2012. Although primarily aimed at criminal justice professionals, the guideline is specifically designed to be accessible and clear...

Following a three month period of training and implementation the definitive guideline on burglary offences came into effect on 16 January 2012. Versions for the Crown Court and magistrates' courts are available.

New proposals about how the owners of dangerous dogs should be sentenced by the courts are being announced today, with the launch of a public consultation on the first sentencing guideline that covers dangerous dog offences. With rising numbers of people being convicted for these offences, the Sentencing Council is responding to ensure that there...

The Sentencing Council has launched a 12-week consultation on its proposed guidelines for judges and magistrates to use when sentencing people for dangerous dog offences. Read the press release.

At the request of the Lord Chancellor, the Sentencing Council has considered the resource effects of proposed changes to Suspended Sentence Orders (SSOs) contained in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill. This work has involved analysis of existing sentencing data, as well as qualitative interviews with Crown Court judges who currently use...

The Sentencing Council has published its first annual report since it came into being in April 2010. The report outlines activities from April 2010 to March 2011, focussing particularly on consulting on and developing guidelines around assault and drug offences, the launch of the Crown Court Sentencing Survey and work to improve public understanding in...

The Sentencing Council has published a report with results from the Crown Court Sentencing Survey, an ongoing data collection exercise of sentencing decisions made in the Crown Court that is required for the Council to comply with the terms of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. The report presents the findings of the first six...

Today the Sentencing Council is publishing a new definitive guideline for the sentencing of burglars. The guideline reinforces current sentencing practice, which means that offenders burgling people’s homes can expect a custodial sentence. Sentencing will remain at existing levels, and the guideline aims to ensure that the effect on victims is at the centre of...

The Sentencing Council has published a new guideline for judges and magistrates. It aims to ensure a consistent and proportionate approach to sentencing, with convicted offenders receiving a sentence that reflects both the harm they have caused to their victim and their culpability. The new guideline, which has been issued following a 12-week public consultation,...

Guidance to judges and magistrates on appropriate sentencing levels come from definitive guidelines issued by the Sentencing Council and from guideline judgments from the Court of Appeal. The Council has discussed the impact of the summer’s riots on guidelines at its September meeting today and is aware that the Court of Appeal will be considering...

The Sentencing Council is seeking views on its proposed sentencing guidelines on three overarching aspects of sentencing: totality, offences taken into consideration and allocation, with a consultation launched today. The draft guidelines aim to ensure that the principles in each of these areas of sentencing practice are applied consistently throughout courts in England and Wales....

The Sentencing Council is seeking views on its proposed sentencing guidelines on Allocation, Offences Taken into Consideration and Allocation, with a consultation launched today. The draft guidelines aim to ensure that the principles in each of these areas of sentencing practice are applied consistently throughout courts in England and Wales. Read the full press release.

The Sentencing Council is currently conducting a short web survey to find out a bit more about our users and ways to improve the website. We value your feedback, and would appreciate if you took a few moments to answer some short questions. All responses are anonymous.

The Sentencing Council’s first public event to increase understanding about sentencing was held last night in Liverpool, with more than 80 people from Merseyside in attendance. It took place alongside a week of coverage about sentencing in the Liverpool Echo, with the paper working with the Sentencing Council to highlight the kinds of burglars that...

The Sentencing Council is holding a public event in Liverpool to explain sentencing and give people the chance to hear the kind of cases judges frequently deal with, pass sentences themselves, and then find out how their verdict compares with a judge’s. The event on 28 July is open to all members of the public...

Following a three months period of training and implementation the definitive guideline on assault came into effect on 13 June 2011. It aims to ensure a consistent and proportionate approach to sentencing, with convicted offenders receiving a sentence that reflects both the harm they have caused to their victim and their culpability.

The consultation on the Sentencing Council’s draft guideline on drug offences will close on 20 June and with this date approaching, the Council is keen to encourage legal professionals with experience or an interest in the subject to contribute their views. The new guideline applies to both the Crown and magistrates’ courts with the aim...

Today, the Sentencing Council is launching a three-month public consultation on its proposals to introduce a new guideline for judges and magistrates on the sentences for all offences which involve burglary. The draft guideline reinforces current sentencing practice, which means that offenders committing domestic burglaries can expect a custodial sentence. It does not propose any...

The Sentencing Council has published a public consultation on its proposals to introduce a new guideline for the sentencing of burglary offences. The consultation will run for 12 weeks and will close on 4 August 2011. The proposals will bring burglary offences into a single guideline for Crown and magistrates’ courts in order to increase...

The Sentencing Council has responded to the Home Office's consultation on anti-social behaviour. The Council's response comprises its views on those topics within the consultation that relate to sentencing.

Today, the Sentencing Council is launching a three-month public consultation on its proposals to introduce a new guideline for judges and magistrates for the sentencing of drugs offenders. Although sentencers have been assisted by judgments of the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division), and there are guidelines in relation to some offences being sentenced in the...

The Sentencing Council launched a 12 week consultation proposing changes to the guidelines that judges and magistrates use to sentence people for drug offences. Read the press release.

Today, the Sentencing Council is publishing a new guideline for judges and magistrates. It aims to ensure a consistent and proportionate approach to sentencing, with convicted offenders receiving a sentence that reflects both the harm they have caused to their victim and their culpability. The new guideline, which has been issued following a 12-week public...

The Sentencing Council has published a new guideline for judges and magistrates. It aims to ensure a consistent and proportionate approach to sentencing, with convicted offenders receiving a sentence that reflects both the harm they have caused to their victim and their culpability. The new guideline, which has been issued following a 12-week public consultation,...

The Sentencing Council has responded to the Ministry of Justice's consultation on the reform of the criminal justice system. The Council's response comprises its views on those questions and topics within the green paper that relate to sentencing.

The deadline for expressions of interest from LPC and BPTC students in the Sentencing Council’s Sentencing Competition has now passed. We were very pleased to receive over 200 entries. Look out for future updates as the competition progresses, culminating in the final rounds at The Old Bailey in March 2011 and presided over by our...

The Sentencing Council's first Sentencing Competition has now been launched. An initial written round will take place in February, and the six highest scoring students will then compete in the semi final and final rounds to be held at The Old Bailey in March 2011 and presided over by Lord Justice Leveson. The top prize...

With the consultation on the Sentencing Council’s revised guideline on assault due to close on 5 January 2011, Council chairman Lord Justice Leveson is keen to remind people to take the opportunity to give their views. The revision to the assault guideline aims to ensure that all offenders receive an appropriate sentence reflecting the harm...

A first edition of the bi-monthly Case Update, aimed at legal professionals, is now available. This is an update of Court of Appeal cases for offences where there are no existing guidelines or where the case relates to general sentencing principles.

Parliament’s Justice Select Committee is calling for contributions to the Sentencing Council’s consultation on its draft guideline on assault. They have set out a range of questions on which they wish to gather evidence, such as the proposed structure, the balance between harm and culpability and the impact on victims and the reduction of reoffending....

Today the Sentencing Council launches a 12-week public consultation, proposing changes to the guidelines that judges and magistrates use to sentence people for offences of assault. The consultation also proposes key changes to the way that guidelines are structured, both to ensure a consistent approach to sentencing by judges and magistrates, and to make them...

The Sentencing Council launched a 12 week consultation proposing changes to the guidelines that judges and magistrates use to sentence people for offences of assault. Read the press release.

The Sentencing Council has launched the first survey of its kind to analyse the use of sentencing guidelines in Crown Courts. Find out more about the survey.

The Today programme on Radio 4 is running a series of debates on the criminal justice system this week starting on Wednesday 22 September - topics covered include sentencing. Read more about Roger Graef's 'search for justice' series on Radio 4.

On 1 October, the Sentencing Council will be launching the first survey of its kind to analyse the use of sentencing guidelines in Crown Courts. One of the Council’s statutory duties is to monitor the operation and effect of sentencing guidelines, and the survey will be taking place in all Crown Courts in England and...

Lord Justice Leveson spoke to Joshua Rozenberg on the BBC’s Law in Action programme in his first broadcast interview as Chairman of the Sentencing Council. The discussion covered issues including the role of the Council and the importance of ensuring consistency in sentencing. Listen to the interview.

In an interview with The Times, Lord Justice Leveson has reassured judges that their independence and freedom to tailor sentences to particular cases is not threatened by the new requirement that judges must follow sentencing guidelines. Read the full article on The Times' website (registration required).

The Lord Chancellor, Jack Straw, and Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, today announced the appointment of the new members of the Sentencing Council for England and Wales, the independent body being set up to support greater consistency in sentencing. The Council will be established on 6 April, streamlining the development of guidelines previously undertaken by...

The Lord Chief Justice, with the agreement of the Lord Chancellor, has offered the appointment as Chairman of the Sentencing Council to Lord Justice Leveson, currently the Senior Presiding Judge for England and Wales. Lord Justice Leveson has accepted this position and will act as chair designate during the period before the commencement of the...