WIREDGOV

Yesterday the Sentencing Council launched a 12-week public consultation, proposing changes to the guidelines that judges and magistrates use to sentence people for offences of assault.

The consultation also proposes key changes to the way that guidelines are structured, both to ensure a consistent approach to sentencing by judges and magistrates, and to make them more easily understood by the public.

There have been a number of concerns with the existing guideline which is based on a description of the offence rather than on the harm caused to the victim and the culpability of the offender.  So, for example, a description of three of the four categories of assault occasioning actual bodily harm include premeditated assault with different levels of injury whereas the experience of judges is that many assaults are spontaneous – such as drunken violence in the street – and do not easily fit into those categories. The proposals seek to address these concerns.

The Chairman of the Sentencing Council, Lord Justice Leveson, said:

“Our revisions set out a proposed guideline that means any offence of assault can be met with a proportionate sentence based on a consistent framework. This will make it easily applied by judges and readily understood both by victims and the public.  We have tried to present the guidelines in a way that everyone can understand.

“During the consultation period we would like to hear from victims and any member of the public, as well as from judges, lawyers and others in the criminal justice system.  We want to make sure that both the structure and the content of what will be our first guideline is informed by the views of everyone who has an interest in sentencing.”

Submissions to the consultation can be made by email or post to the Sentencing Council any time between 13 October 2010 and 5 January 2011. All consultation documents can be found on the current consultations page.

Following the consultation, a definitive guideline will be produced, which will be used in both the Crown Court and magistrates’ courts.

Notes to editors

1. The Sentencing Council was created by the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 to bring together the functions of the two previous bodies, the Sentencing Guidelines Council (SGC) and Sentencing Advisory Panel (SAP), which were disbanded. The Sentencing Council is a more streamlined body with a greater remit to take forward work on sentencing not only through improvements to guidelines but also through the development of a robust evidence base and engaging more with the public to improve understanding about sentences.

2. The guideline covers the offences of:

• Causing grievous bodily harm with intent or wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm - Section 18 Offences Against the Person Act 1861;
• Unlawful wounding/causing grievous bodily harm - Section 20 Offences Against the Person Act 1861;
• Assault occasioning actual bodily harm - Section 47 Offences Against the Person Act 1861;
• Assault with intent to resist arrest - Section 38 Offences Against the Person Act 1861;
• Assault on a police constable in execution of his duty – Section 89 Police Act 1996; Common Assault - Section 39 Criminal Justice Act 1988.

3. The Assault Guideline consultation will run for 12 weeks from 13 October 2010 until 5 January 2011 during which time submissions can be made by email or post to
Nigel Patrick
Office of the Sentencing Council
2nd Floor, 11 Tothill Street
London, SW1H 9LJ

The consultation documents will be available to download from the current consultation page and paper copies can be requested by calling 020 3334 0634. 

For more information, please contact Nick Mann, Sentencing Council press officer, on 020 333 0631 or by email.