Sentencing guidelines

Following the publication of a draft guideline and consideration of the consultation responses, the Council publishes the final definitive guideline.

There are currently 21 definitive guidelines available to download from our Guidelines to download page.

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Criminal offences in England and Wales are very broadly defined and can have different levels of seriousness, for example, theft could be anything from stealing a chocolate bar from a shop to stealing the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London.

It is important to ensure that courts across England and Wales are consistent in their approach to sentencing. Sentencing guidelines, which set out a decision-making process for all magistrates and judges to follow, play an essential role in this.

The Sentencing Council is responsible for preparing and monitoring sentencing guidelines with the aim of ensuring greater consistency in sentencing.Guidelines are also issued by the Court of Appeal in the form of guideline judgments.

According to the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, when sentencing an offender for an offence committed on or after 6 April 2010, a court must follow any relevant sentencing guidelines, unless it is contrary to the interests of justice to do so. There are currently transitional provisions in place.

When sentencing an offender for an offence committed before 6 April 2010, the courts must have regard to any relevant sentencing guidelines.

What guidelines do

Sentencing guidelines help judges and magistrates decide the appropriate sentence for a criminal offence.

The sentence imposed on an offender should reflect the crime they have committed and be proportionate to the seriousness of the offence. The sentencing guidelines for individual offences set out sentence ranges reflecting different levels of seriousness and within each range, a starting point for the sentence. The guidelines also provide guidance on factors the court should take into account that may mean a more or less severe sentence should be imposed. Sentencing guidelines are available for most of the significant offences sentenced in the magistrates’ court and for a wide range of offences in the Crown Court.

Sentencing guidelines are also available which provide guidance on general sentencing issues and principles. These guidelines are not specific to individual offences but are much wider in their application and cover issues such as discounts in sentences for a guilty plea, sentencing youths and domestic violence.

Sentencing guidelines provide a structured approach to determining the appropriate sentence while still allowing for judicial discretion. This allows judges and magistrates in different courts to be consistent in their approach to sentencing and allows for greater transparency in the sentencing decision.