Roberts, J.V. and Sanchez, J. and Marder, Ian D.
(2018)
Individualisation at Sentencing: The Effects of Guidelines and ‘Preferred’ Numbers.
Criminal Law Review, 2.
pp. 123-136.
ISSN 0011-135X
Abstract
Over a decade after the introduction of sentencing guidelines in England and Wales, little is known about their
effects on consistency and individualisation. Limited research has addressed the issue of consistency, and no research
has explored another key concept, namely individualisation. This is regrettable since one criticism of guidelines is
that they undermine the principle of individualisation at sentence, and this critique is examined here. The article
explores two potential threats to individualisation, using sentence length data from the Crown Court Sentencing
Survey. One threat may arise if a guideline constrains judges to sentence within a restricted range, leading to a less
individualised approach to sentencing. The second is more fundamental, and consists of the tendency to favour some
sentence lengths over others – a preference for certain ‘round’ numbers. The article reports an analysis of custodial
sentences for assault offences. Results indicate that sentence lengths for assault offences are affected by a preference
for certain numbers – a tendency first observed by Francis Galton in the 19th century. On a more positive note, we
find no evidence that the sentencing guidelines for assault and burglary introduced in 2011 have diminished the
degree of individualisation in sentencing. We also find that courts report taking a larger number of sentencing
factors into account under the new guidelines, further evidence that the guidelines have not undermined
individualisation.
Item Type: |
Article
|
Keywords: |
sentencing; individualization; sentencing guidelines; |
Academic Unit: |
Faculty of Social Sciences > Law |
Item ID: |
11733 |
Depositing User: |
Ian Marder
|
Date Deposited: |
18 Nov 2019 12:28 |
Journal or Publication Title: |
Criminal Law Review |
Publisher: |
Sweet and Maxwell |
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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