Public opinion on sentencing alcohol-related offending
Dr Carly Lightowlers, University of Liverpool Alcohol intoxication is a common feature in criminal cases brought before the courts, playing a pivotal role both in the commission of offences and in the interpretation of offender culpability (Lightowlers, 2019; 2022; Lightowlers et al., 2020). Despite its prevalence, the relevance of intoxication in assessments of blameworthiness […]
Public Opinion and the Language of Sentencing
The Sentencing Academy has published a new report, authored by Rory Kelly, Julian V. Roberts, Jonathan Bild and Raphael Freund, that explores public understanding of some key sentencing terminology and tests whether alternatives are more easily understood. The report is based on the findings of a survey of the public conducted by YouGov for the […]
The new Sentencing Bill
The Sentencing Academy welcomes David Lammy as the new Lord Chancellor, and Baroness Alison Levitt and Jake Richards as new Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State. With Second Reading of the new Sentencing Bill this week, they take the helm at a vital point in the development of sentencing law and policy. The Bill follows on from […]
A Legislative Presumption Against the Use of Short Prison Sentences
In its response to the Gauke Sentencing Review, the government has indicated its intention to introduce a legislative restraint on courts’ discretion to impose a short prison sentence. Related restrictions on the use of custody exist in other jurisdictions such as Scotland and New South Wales (see Appendix). The Gauke Review did not identify the […]
Sentence Reductions for Assisting the Police and Prosecution
By Fee Robinson Read the full paper here: Sentence Reductions for Assisting the Police and Prosecution Executive Summary: • All common law jurisdictions award sentence reductions to offenders who provide assistance to the police or the prosecution. This assistance usually consists of information about other offenders or offending. • This review examines the legal frameworks […]
Sentencing Academy welcomes the final report of the Independent Sentencing Review
The Sentencing Academy welcomes today’s final report of the Independent Sentencing Review. It is clear that David Gauke and his panel of experts have undertaken a serious and evidence-led exercise in response to the terms of reference set by the Government, in which the need to reduce pressure on prison capacity has been explicit from […]
Measuring Sentence Inflation in England and Wales
The Sentencing Academy has published a new analysis, authored by Jose Pina-Sánchez, Julian V. Roberts and Jonathan Bild, of sentence inflation in England and Wales since 2005. Read the report here: Measuring Sentence Inflation in England and Wales Executive Summary: This Research Bulletin reports findings from the first comprehensive analysis of ‘sentence inflation’ in England […]
Briefing: Sentencing Guidelines (Pre-sentence Reports) Bill
Background On 1 April 2025, the Government published the Sentencing Guidelines (Pre-sentence Reports) Bill. It will have its Second Reading on 22nd April. This draft legislation amends the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 to prevent sentencing guidelines about pre-sentence reports (PSRs) from making reference to ‘different personal characteristics’ of an offender. The legislation follows the […]
The Government, Parliament and the Sentencing Council
The recent disagreement between the Lord Chancellor and the Sentencing Council has raised questions about how the Council develops its guidelines, and how much input the Government currently has into the Council and those guidelines. This ‘Explainer’ summarises the ways in which the Council engages with the Government, Parliament and the wider community, and as […]
The new Imposition Guideline and the role of the Pre-Sentence Report at sentencing
This explainer discusses the role of the Pre-Sentence Report (PSR) in light of the Sentencing Council’s recently amended guideline regarding the Imposition of Community and Custodial Sentences (hereafter, Imposition Guideline).[1] The updated guideline includes greater guidance for sentencers on the types of cohorts of defendants for whom a PSR may be beneficial when they are […]
A (Re)View of the Future? What sentencing policy will look like after Gauke
By Ellie Cumbo Last week, the Independent Sentencing Review published its interim report. Although its scope is limited to just the first of seven themes that were set out in last year’s Call for Evidence, this encompasses the recent history of sentencing, including the key drivers of change during that time, and whether or not […]
Response to Independent Sentencing Review 2024 to 2025
The Sentencing Academy has submitted a response to the Independent Sentencing Review 2024 to 2025. You can read our response below and also an additional technical appendix that sets out further details on our analyses about sentence inflation contained within the response. Sentencing Academy Response to Independent Sentencing Review Technical Appendix – Plotting Sentence Severity […]
