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Sentencing: A Way Ahead

NCJ Number
136425
Date Published
1989
Length
57 pages
Annotation
A Committee of the British organization JUSTICE was formed to assess the objectives and effectiveness of sentencing with a view towards recommending ways in which sentencing policy could be pre-determined to achieve consistency. This report is based on 19 meetings in which testimony was taken from a number of witnesses and writing on the various subjects considered.
Abstract
The objectives of criminal sentences are retribution, denunciation, deterrence, protection, rehabilitation, and reparation. Some of the problems with the English sentencing system identified here include the lack of a rationale, the lack of sentencing guidance, the eclectic philosophy of the Court of Appeal, and the negative impact of parole. The Committee has formulated a series of proposals aimed at rationalization; the proposals would center around a new rationale, maximum penalties, community sentences, and "real time" sentences. In addition, the Committee recommends the adoption of sentencing guidelines and the creation of a Sentencing Commission. This report also discusses the post-sentence review procedure and supervision of offenders, the imposition of fines and day fines, the electronic monitoring of offenders, and the role victims may plan in the sentencing process. The basic premise of this report is that custody should be a sentence of last resort and the shift toward community sentences should be encouraged. 4 appendixes