Sentencing in England and Wales

Sentencing in England and Wales refers to a bench of magistrates or district judge in a magistrate's court or a judge in the Crown Court passing sentence on a person found guilty of a criminal offence. In deciding the sentence, the court will take into account a number of factors: the type of offence and how serious it is, the timing of any plea of guilty, the defendant's character and antecedents, including their criminal record and the defendant's personal circumstances such as their financial circumstances in the case of a fine being imposed.

In England and Wales, the types of sentence that may be imposed for a particular offence are specified by statute. There are four main types of sentence: discharges, fines, community sentences and custodial (or prison) sentences. If a court convicts a defendant but decides not to impose any punishment, they are discharged conditionally or absolutely. Discharges may be ordered for any offence where the penalty is not fixed by law, although in practice they are used in the least serious offences. Fines are the most common sentence.

For offences considered to be "serious enough", a range of community sentences is available to the court. Community sentences place 'requirements' on the offender - things they must do, or not do, in the community. Requirements can include: doing unpaid work, getting treatment for an addiction (for example drugs), or preventing a defendant from going to a specific place or area. For those offences considered so serious that a non-custodial sentence cannot be justified, a prison sentence may be imposed, either immediate or suspended. The maximum prison sentence in the magistrates' court is six months (which may be imposed consecutively up to 12 months for two triable either-way offences). There is also a range of ancillary sentences available to the courts, such as compensation orders, costs, restraining orders and disqualification orders, depending on the type of offence.

For the most serious offences such as murder, the sentence is fixed as life. Some offences carry minimum sentences, for example, certain firearms offences, "three strikes and you're out" burglaries, using someone to mind a weapon, or those committed by dangerous offenders. There are different sentencing provisions for offenders aged ten to seventeen years old, and some modified provisions for those in the 18-20 age range.