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    Have the England and Wales Guidelines affected sentencing severity? An Empirical analysis using a scale of severity and time-series analyses.


    Pina-Sánchez, Jose and Gosling, John Paul and Chung, Hye-In and Bourgeois, Elizabeth and Geneletti, Sara and Marder, Ian D. (2019) Have the England and Wales Guidelines affected sentencing severity? An Empirical analysis using a scale of severity and time-series analyses. British Journal of Criminology, 59. pp. 979-1001. ISSN 0007-0955

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    Abstract

    Sentence severity has increased in England and Wales in recent years. The causes of the increase remain unclear. One possible explanation relates to the introduction of sentencing guidelines, which seem to coincide in time with the increase in sentence severity. To date, investigations of this hypothesis have been limited to simple exploratory analyses or to specific offences. We use a new scale of sentence severity—developed using Thurstone scaling and the participation of 21 magistrates— and time-series modelling to explore whether a causal effect can be attributed to seven different guidelines. We corroborate the existence of an increase in sentence severity; however, we do not find conclusive evidence pointing at the guidelines having caused it.

    Item Type: Article
    Additional Information: Cite as: Jose Pina-Sánchez, John Paul Gosling, Hye-In Chung, Elizabeth Bourgeois, Sara Geneletti, Ian D Marder, Have The England and Wales Guidelines Affected Sentencing Severity? An Empirical Analysis Using a Scale of Severity and Time-Series Analyses, The British Journal of Criminology, Volume 59, Issue 4, July 2019, Pages 979–1001, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azz005
    Keywords: sentencing; severity; guidelines; time-series; Thurstone;
    Academic Unit: Faculty of Social Sciences > Law
    Item ID: 11732
    Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azz005
    Depositing User: Ian Marder
    Date Deposited: 18 Nov 2019 12:27
    Journal or Publication Title: British Journal of Criminology
    Publisher: Oxford University Press
    Refereed: Yes
    URI:
    Use Licence: This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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