SCOTTISH SENTENCING COUNCIL
There are provisions in the Criminal Justice and licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 to create a Scottish Sentencing Council which will provide a new sentencing guidelines regime for Scotland. The objectives of the Council are to:
- Promote consistency in sentencing practice;
- Assist the development of policy in relation to sentencing; and
- Promote greater awareness and understanding of sentencing policy and practice.
If established, one of the principle ways to achieve these objectives is for the Council to produce sentencing guidelines. The guidelines can relate to sentencing levels and the types of sentences that are appropriate for particular offences and offenders. They may also relate to the kinds of circumstances in which they can be departed from. The Council must assess the costs and benefits of the guidelines and their projected impact on the criminal justice system in general.
The Council must publish a draft of the proposed guidelines and the assessment of costs and benefits for comment before submitting them to the High Court for approval. There is a requirement on the Council to consult the Scottish Ministers and the Lord Advocate, as well as such other persons as the Council considers appropriate before submitting the guidelines to the High Court for approval.
Where the Council has published sentencing guidelines and those sentencing guidelines apply, then courts will have to have regard to those guidelines unless they consider that there are good reasons not to. If the court decides that it is not appropriate to apply a guideline it will be required to state why.
The Council will be expected to publish information about sentences imposed by the courts. The purpose of this is to make the sentencing process more transparent and improve public understanding of how sentencing decisions are reached. The SSC is provided with the power to publish and provide information and guidance on sentencing and conduct research into sentencing - it is expected the SSC will publish research and analyses of sentencing trends and patterns across Scotland - i.e. looking at the differences between courts in different parts of the country, highlighting trends in the types of disposal used for certain offences etc. This will help to inform the judiciary, the wider justice system and the public about how sentencing is actually being carried out and will assist in highlighting where inconsistencies lie and understanding how to tackle them or even whether they need to be tackled.
The Council is to consist of a combination of judicial and non-judicial members and will be chaired by the Lord Justice Clerk. One of the members will be a person with particular experience of victim issues.
Much has been done in recent years to improve the public perception of criminal justice system - High Court reform and improved support for victims and witnesses are just two examples - but it is important to keep building on this work and make sure that every part of the system is contributing to the improvement. Sentencing guidelines will help to deliver more consistent and transparent sentencing and greater clarity and openness will help to improve public confidence in criminal justice in Scotland.