« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
ANNEX B - EXISTING SYSTEMS: ENGLAND & WALES
In England and Wales, the Sentencing Advisory Panel ( SAP) and the Sentencing Guidelines Council ( SGC) work together to ensure that sentencing guidelines are produced which:
- Encourage consistency in sentencing throughout the courts of England and Wales
- Support sentencers in their decision making
The Sentencing Advisory Panel was created by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to assist and advise the Court of Appeal in producing sentencing guidelines. In 2003, the Sentencing Guidelines Council was created by the Criminal Justice Act 2003 to issue sentencing guidelines with the SAP acting much as it had before by advising the Council rather than the Court of Appeal.
The SAP's role is to advise on sentencing guidelines for particular offences or categories of offences, and other sentencing issues. Following a period of wide consultation, and research if required, the Panel produces advice which is submitted to the SGC for consideration. The SGC takes this advice and formulates draft sentencing guidelines. These draft guidelines are published, consulted on and, if necessary, revised. Final sentencing guidelines are then issued, ready to be used by sentencers.
Membership
There are twelve members of the Sentencing Advisory Panel, including judges, academics and criminal justice practitioners, as well as representatives of the public. Members are all appointed by the Lord Chancellor, in consultation with the Lord Chief Justice.
The Sentencing Guidelines Council, chaired by the Lord Chief Justice, has seven further judicial members from every tier of court that deals with sentencing in criminal cases. Judicial members are appointed by the Lord Chief Justice, after consultation with the Lord Chancellor. Four non-judicial members, with experience of policing, criminal prosecution, criminal defence and the interests of victims, are also appointed.
The Chairman of the Sentencing Advisory Panel attends meetings of the Council to enhance the link between the Council and the Panel. The Director of Offender, Law and Sentencing Policy in the National Offender Management Service is also able to attend and speak at all meetings but is not a member of the Council.
The future
Lord Carter's review of prisons 8, published in December 2007, recommended the establishment of a working group to examine the advantages, disadvantages and feasibility of a structured sentencing framework and permanent sentencing commission for England and Wales. The Working Group was established in January 2008 by the Lord Chief Justice and the Lord Chancellor under the chairmanship of Lord Justice Gage. In March 2008, the Working Group published a consultation 9 paper inviting views on possible improvements in the operation of the criminal justice system in relation to sentencing. That consultation closed on 2 June 2008.
The Working Group's final report 10 was published on 10 July 2008. Its recommendations include:
- the creation of an enhanced Sentencing Guidelines Council ( SGC) combining the current SGC and the Sentencing Advisory Panel in one body;
- the collection of more data on sentencing practice including undertaking a national sentencing survey;
- placing a duty on the SGC to estimate the effect of its guidelines in terms of the prison population and other correctional resources and to provide an overview of all the factors that impact on the prison population and alert the UK Government to significant developments; and
- obliging the UK Government, when introducing a Bill or launching a new policy, to invite the SGC to assess its impact on correctional resources.
« Previous | Contents | Next »