Sentencing in the UK: Ethical Considerations and Policy Implications

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students. This report examines ethical dilemmas in UK sentencing.

Assignment 3: Understand the ethical dilemmas
surrounding sentencing
Name of the student-
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Discussion........................................................................................................................................2
3.1 The key issues that arise from the implementation of current sentencing legislation...........2
3.2 The impact of sentencing on criminal justice........................................................................3
3.3 The objectives of punishment in a modern society...............................................................4
3.4 The relationship between sentencing trends and public confidence......................................5
3.5 The costs of prosecution and sentencing impact on available resources.............................5
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................7
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Introduction
The sentencing in the UK refers to the bench of the magistrates or the district judges in the court
where a sentence is passed upon a person if he is found guilty. While deciding the sentence, the
court will have to take into the account the number of various factors like what type of offence
the person has committed, how severe the crime is, the descendants of the person, the criminal
record if the person has any. In England and Whales, the type of sentence that will be imposed
upon a particular person is specified in the statute. There are four types of sentences- custodial,
discharges, fines and community sentencing. When a court decides that, a person is guilty but
will not be imposed with any punishment then the person is said to be discharged conditionally
or absolutely. The decision of what type of sentence will be imposed upon the person depends
upon the court.
The primary statute in sentencing in the UK is The Criminal Justice Act 2003. Under section
42 of the law, there are five main purposes of the sentencing the person. While deciding the
sentence, the court should make the two principles they are the type of punishment and their
length. In this project all the key issues that arise from the implications of the current sentencing
legislation, the impacts of sentencing on the criminal justice has been analyzed, the relationship
between sentencing trends and public confidence have been explained, the cost of prosecution
and sentencing the impact on the available resources.
Discussion
3.1 The key issues that arise from the implementation of current sentencing legislation
The sentencing policies depend upon the various factors which include the type of punishment,
circumstances of the crime, and the seriousness of the offense. When the court is deciding the
structure of the sentence, the court will have to look into the various factors, which will affect the
penalty that will be incurred. When a court is deciding upon the structure, then the court will also
have to consider the age of the accused. The sentencing guide says that sentencing depend upon
the mitigating and the aggravating circumstances (Lowe and Rogers, 2017). The Court of Justice
and the sentencing council in deciding the sentence are guiding the judges and the magistrate.
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The parliament has assigned the society with the task of determining the actual punishment for
the criminal courts. But the responsibility cannot be exercised arbitrarily by society.
The sentence cannot be decided just like that; in order to give a penalty to any person the court
will have to take into consideration the seriousness of the issue and its severity that has been
committed by the person (Roberts, 2015). When the court is deciding the sentence then the
matters like age, the type of crime everything will have to be considered. The penalty related to
the offense cannot be arbitrarily incurred on any person. There are two kinds of circumstances,
which decides the sentence. The aggravating circumstances are a circumstance, which makes the
crime dangerous. The example of this type of things is burgling. A different kind of circumstance
is the mitigating circumstances under these type of circumstances the sentence can be reduced. In
order to make the sentencing more effective current policies are developed by the government.
The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (2012) has introduced a number
of reforms in the sentencing policies. The Crime and Courts Act had also received the Royal
Consent in 2013. Offender Rehabilitation Bill proposes a number of measures, which include
the period for the extension of the period of the sentence of the prisoners (Pina-Sánchez et al.,
2017).
These legislations have been introduced in the UK sentencing policies but there are many issues
which are arising and the implication is not being a successful one. There are sometimes conflict
between many of the policies that have been established by the government. The political
instability has also resulted in the implication of the policies. There are many economic issues
related to the implication of the rules and policies also.
3.2 The impact of sentencing on criminal justice
Punishment is said to be a problematic concept as it can be understood and defined in various
ways. The better penal policy will result in the reduction of the crime. Recently the sentencing in
England and Whales is being guided by the market policy; the sentence can also be shaped by
the normative ideas regarding what it is. The sentencing was introduced on the guideline which
aims at achieving the consistency in the penalty where more severe punishment will be incurred
on the more serious offence (Byrne, Pattavina and Taxman, 2015). There are six aims of
sentencing which need to be fulfilled they are- retribution, protection, denunciation, deterrence,
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rehabilitation, and the security. There are separate goals of sentencing; they are Incapacitation,
deference. The main aim is to stop the person from committing the offence again in the future.
The sentencing that is incurred on the punishments is effective and ineffective in the process of
achieving justice. There are certain limitations to the effectiveness of the sentence. The public
wants justice so that they can be protected against the crime. The prisoners do not understand the
main aim of the punishment they get for the offense. When the prisoner comes out, he again
commits the offence, and more people are affected by that (Lowe and Rogers, 2017). When the
citizen is penalized, the law intervenes with the liberty of the person. There is a situation where
the law requires justification. When a person is punished, then the aim of giving him that
sentence is that the person is deterred from doing that work again. The sentencing aims at
reforming the person who has committed the offences. The ancient saying in law goes like a hate
crime and not the criminals as the criminals can be changed. The person who has committed the
offense needs to be punished for the wrong. The victims also have the right to ask for the
damages cost that has incurred to them because of the offense. The purpose of the sentencing is
to give retrospective justice which focuses on the rehabilitation of the person who is the
offender through the reconciliation with the victim and the community at large. The four Rs of
the criminal justice are Restitution, Rehabilitation, Responsibility, Restoration. Without
Restoration there cannot be any justice and therefore the sentencing policies includes the 4 Rs as
the retrospective justice.
3.3 The objectives of punishment in a modern society
With the recent trend of sentencing in the UK, the total number of individuals has declined since
2007. It has fallen to 7% in the latest record. The research on public opinion in the past three
decades has established that the public in Britain is critical of sentences. Public opinion plays a
significant role in the structure formation of the sentencing. Recently the Lord Chief Justice has
determined the position of the public (Kadish, Schulhofer, and Barkow, 2016). Sentencing has
been in trend since the colonial period and has been there for deterring the criminal acts in the
society. The punishment is believed to be a necessity in today's society as it is a response to
violence and crime worldwide and to gain the public confidence. The current trend related to
the sentencing has resulted in the reduction of crime rates. There has been a reduction in the out
of court settlement. There has been an increase in the first time offenders by 4%, but there has
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been a reduction in the number of repeat offenders. In the current situation, the sentencing policy
is decreasing the repeat offenders of any crime. There are various cost that is incurred in the
sentencing of the offenders. The human resource, physical resource and all the other resources
plays a significant role in the sentencing structure and objective.
Public plays a significant role in the sentencing. The parliament has given power to the public in
determining the punishment for the crimes, though the right is not the arbitrary right. The
sentencing is done in order to provide security to the citizen, so the people will decide the British
Parliament think that it is okay if the punishment as they will be able to understand the crime and
the changes that they will need (Villoria-Sáez et al., 2017). The sentencing council has launched
a consultation on the plans for providing the expanded explanation in the offences. The offenders
are provided with the punishment according to the crime that has been done by them. The
offender management is there which covers all the risk management that will be taken in the
sentencing process (Barnes and Hedderman, 2015). The risk in sentencing is that what should be
the depth of the punishment that should be incurred on the criminals. The cost that is incurred on
the custody is decided and planned by the ministry of the Justice.
3.4 The relationship between sentencing trends and public confidence
The policies have significant cost and the benefits. These cost and benefits have been identified
and monetized (Roberts, 2019). Not all other procedures are expected to impose significant value
and benefits. At the time of committing the crime and or upon the discovery of the offense the
victims will suffer a lot of physical reaction to the event. The increase of Adrenalin in the body,
increase in the heart rate, shaking of tears, hyperventilation, and numbness are an example of the
physical reaction that a victim can suffer. The physical and human resources that are there in the
criminal justice system is the court, the magistrates, and the judges (Ashworth, 2015). The illegal
costs are those financial penalties, which is awarded against the criminal who has been
convicted. When any person is convicted of the crime that he or she has committed then
sometimes, they are asked to pay a certain amount. The order of cost is also incurred upon the
person who has been accused of the crime. When any person is sent to prison, then there is an
individual cost that is born upon some of the people who is there in prison. The price, which is
incurred upon the living of the prisoners, are generally given from the funds of the government
(Woodhams, Lupton and Cowling, 2015).
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3.5 The costs of prosecution and sentencing impact on available resources
The damage that is incurred on the investigation process is not included in the prosecution cost.
Section 18 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 says that the cost can be committed upon
the defendant (Amankwaa and McCartney, 2018). When there are case of young offenders then
they have been provided with certain rights while they are dealing with the police. The court can
order the defendant to pay the amount, which is just and reasonable. The award, which cost in
favor of prosecution are those expenses which have been required reasonably in the process of
carrying out the trial. Generally, the cost should include the price which is incurred through the
preparation of the case, The disbursements and the counsel fees, the expenses on the witness.
The cost that is incurred to the person who has committed the offence depends upon the person
ability also. If the person is a mentally disabled person, then the cost that will be incurred by
the court will be according to his capacity to pay. When the women commit the crime and the
source of her income is not there then she will be charged accordingly (Roberts and Ashworth,
2016). But in a heinous crime, the cost that will be charged upon the accused will be the cost that
has been given in the statute.
Conclusion
There are many things being done internationally for elevating the plight of the different types of
victims, but now the process is being carried out in isolation form which is not providing many
benefits to the justice system. Whatever is done in the criminal justice area the ethical dilemma
will always arise. To the person who has the job of enforcing the law will always have to be
careful that the boundaries are not being crossed and the citizen is not being affected by that. The
sentencing policies and the structure should be such that the citizens are happy with the structure.
There are many rules, which the lawmakers will have to take into consideration. The ethics
cannot be ignored while making the structure of the sentencing. The structure of the law will
have to be according to ethical principles. There cannot be arbitrary powers available to the
person who is making the structure.
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When the structure of the law is being made then the cost that is incurred upon the implication,
and all the other cost and human resources availability, physical resources availability will have
to be considered.
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References
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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0379073817305571
Ashworth, A., 2015. Sentencing and criminal justice. Cambridge University Press.
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Have the England and Wales Guidelines Influenced Sentencing Severity? An Empirical Analysis
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