In considering this the court must NOT consider any licence or post sentence supervision requirements which may subsequently be imposed upon the offenders release. The following factors should be weighed in considering whether it is possible to suspend the sentence: Factors indicating that it would not be appropriate to suspend a custodial sentence, Factors indicating that it may be appropriate to suspend a custodial sentence, Offender presents a risk/danger to the public, Appropriate punishment can only be achieved by immediate custody, History of poor compliance with court orders, Immediate custody will result in significant harmful impact upon others. The Sentencing Council has published revised sentencing guidelines for assault offences, including common assault and attempted murder, and new guidance for assault on emergency workers to reflect changes in legislation. Where an offender has turned 18 between the commission of the offence and conviction the court should take as its starting point the sentence likely to have been imposed on the date at which the offence was committed, but applying the purposes of sentencing adult offenders. color:#0080aa; The more sophisticated, extensive or persistent the actions after the event, the more likely it is to increase the seriousness of the offence. Racial or religious aggravation statutory provisions, 2. Our head office is located at 1 Victoria Square in Birmingham City Centre and we offer our services throughout England and Wales on a private fee-paying basis. (a) in the case of a prisoner custody officer, means the functions specified in section 80(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1991; (b) in the case of a custody officer, means the functions specified in paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 to the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994; NHS health services means any kind of health services provided as part of the health service continued under section 1(1) of the National Health Service Act 2006 and under section 1(1) of the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006; prisoner custody officer has the meaning given by section 89(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1991. (4) For the purposes of this section, an offence is aggravated by hostility of one of the kinds mentioned in subsection (1) if, (a) at the time of committing the offence, or immediately before or after doing so, the offender demonstrated towards the victim of the offence hostility based on. border-color:#000000; There are common elements of the two offences. In considering this the court must NOT consider any licence or post sentence supervision requirements which may subsequently be imposed upon the offenders release. Highly dangerous weapon equivalents can include corrosive substances (such as acid), whose dangerous nature must be substantially above and beyond the legislative definition of an offensive weapon which is; any article made or adapted for use for causing injury, or is intended by the person having it with him for such use. The extent to which the offender has complied with the conditions of an order (including the time that has elapsed since its commencement) will be a relevant consideration. iv) When the court suspends a sentence, it may impose one or more requirements for the offender to undertake in the community. Imposition of fines with custodial sentences, 2. Either or both of these considerations may justify a reduction in the sentence. The Criminal Procedure Amendment (Sentencing Guidelines) Act 1998 was passed in response to the first guideline judgment of R v Jurisic (1998) 45 NSWLR 209, and gave statutory recognition to the issuing of guideline judgments in NSW. If you are convicted of this offence you will receive a custodial sentence of between three and 16 years. color:#ffffff; However, you are a class-one dickhead and I hope you get everything coming to you. The court should take account of any potential reduction for a guilty plea in accordance with section 144 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and the guideline for Reduction in Sentence for a Guilty Plea (where first hearing is on or after 1 June 2017, or first hearing before 1 June 2017). Please do not complete this form if you are sentencing an offender who is under 18 years old. Generally the sentence for the new offence will be consecutive to the sentence being served as it will have arisen out of an unrelated incident. maison d'amelie paris clothing. Care should be taken to avoid double counting matters taken into account when considering previous convictions. If the offender received a non-custodial disposal for the previous offence, a court should not necessarily move to a custodial sentence for the fresh offence. width:250px; Do not retain this copy. * A highly dangerous weapon can include weapons such as knives and firearms. #nf-form-12-cont .nf-row { The approach to the imposition of a custodial sentence should be as follows: 1) Has the custody threshold been passed? A wound is the breaking of the skin. (4) For the purposes of subsection (2) the circumstances in which an offence is to be taken as committed against a person acting in the exercise of functions as an emergency worker include circumstances where the offence takes place at a time when the person is not at work but is carrying out functions which, if done in work time, would have been in the exercise of functions as an emergency worker. iv) When the court suspends a sentence, it may impose one or more requirements for the offender to undertake in the community. The court must give reasons if it decides not to order compensation (Sentencing Code, s.55). In general the more serious the previous offending the longer it will retain relevance. Criminal justice where does the Council fit? For further information see Imposition of community and custodial sentences. border-style:solid; The intent: The accused must intend to cause a wound or apply some harm or they should have foreseen their conduct is likely to result in the causing of some harm. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. color:#0080aa; Where offending is driven by or closely associated with drug or alcohol abuse (for example stealing to feed a habit, or committing acts of disorder or violence whilst drunk) a commitment to address the underlying issue may justify a reduction in sentence. The aggravating effect of relevant previous convictions reduces with the passage of time; Where the previous offence is particularly old it will normally have little relevance for the current sentencing exercise. Offences for which penalty notices are available, 5. Do not retain this copy. border-color:#ffffff; If so, they must commit for sentence to the Crown Court. In addition, first offenders are normally regarded as less blameworthy than offenders who have committed the same crime several times already. Do I need a solicitor for a GBH allegation? (5) In this section, emergency worker has the meaning given by section 68. (ii) section 18 (wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm); (iv) section 23 (administering poison etc); (v) section 28 (causing bodily injury by explosives); (vi) section 29 (using explosives etc with intent to do grievous bodily harm); (vii) section 47 (assault occasioning actual bodily harm); (b) an offence under section 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (sexual assault); (e) an inchoate offence in relation to any of the preceding offences. This section applies to any offences of common assault or battery which amount to domestic abuse, as defined in section 1 Domestic Abuse Act 2021 and applies to offences committed on or after 28. The court should consider the time gap since the previous conviction and the reason for it. background-color:#ffffff; (iii) a disability (or presumed disability) of the victim, (iv) the sexual orientation (or presumed sexual orientation) of the victim, or (as the case may be), (v) the victim being (or being presumed to be) transgender, or, (b) the offence was motivated (wholly or partly) by. The court can take account of physical disability or a serious medical condition by way of mitigation as a reason for reducing the length of the sentence, either on the ground of the greater impact which imprisonment will have on the offender, or as a matter of generally expressed mercy in the individual circumstances of the case. Where the offender is dealt with separately for a breach of a licence or order regard should be had to totality. Applicability Step 1 - Determining the offence category The court should determine the offence category with reference only to the factors listed in the tables below. border-style:solid; A terminal prognosis is not in itself a reason to reduce the sentence even further. It may be helpful to indicate to the Probation Service the courts preliminary opinion as to which of the three sentencing ranges is relevant and the purpose(s) of sentencing that the package of requirements is expected to fulfil. The prosecution will need to prove both elements mentioned above to secure a conviction Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH) Section 20 against a Defendant. Company Registration, Kang & Co Solicitors is a truly specialist high-end law firm providing advice and representation privately for all, Registered Office: 1 Victoria Square, Birmingham, B1 1BD, Kang & Co Solicitors 2023 All Rights Reserved. Racial or religious aggravation was the predominant motivation for the offence. A close examination of the facts is necessary and a clear justification should be given if abuse of trust is to be found. Aggravated element formed a minimal part of the offence as a whole. Category range 3 years 4 years 6 months custody, Category range High level community order 2 years custody, Category range Medium level community order 1 years custody. It provides guidance which sentencers are encouraged to take into account wherever applicable, to ensure that there is fairness for all involved in court proceedings. What is the difference between a Section 18 and a Section 20 assault? In general, only one requirement will be appropriate and the length may be curtailed if additional requirements are necessary, More intensive sentences which combine two or more requirements may be appropriate. Intoxication precludes crimes of specific intent; if you were drunk, you can only get s20 GBH/Wounding. Secondly, the mental intention required for ABH is the intention to assault, or recklessness to assault. The fact that an offender is voluntarily intoxicated at the time of the offence will tend to increase the seriousness of the offence provided that the intoxication has contributed to the offending. It is a triable either way offence which means it can be heard at the Crown or Magistrates' Court. (i) the victims membership (or presumed membership) of a racial group. Navigation Menu. Immaturity can also result from atypical brain development. } Medium level community order 1 years custody. The court must ensure that the restriction on the offenders liberty is commensurate with the seriousness of the offence and that the requirements imposed are the most suitable for the offender. The court should take account of any potential reduction for a guilty plea in accordance with section 73 of the Sentencing Code and the Reduction in Sentence for a Guilty Plea guideline. Care should be taken to avoid double counting factors including those already taken into account in assessing culpability or harm. This is subject to subsection (3). The circumstances of the individual offence and the factors assessed by offence-specific guidelines will determine whether an offence is so serious that neither a fine alone nor a community sentence can be justified. Destruction orders and contingent destruction orders for dogs, 9. Where there has been a significant gap between previous and current convictions or a reduction in the frequency of offending this may indicate that the offender has made attempts to desist from offending in which case the aggravating effect of the previous offending will diminish. For more serious offences where a substantial period of custody is appropriate, this factor will carry less weight. Offence committed for commercial purposes, 11. We offer our solicitors and barristers services nationwide on a private fee-paying basis. background-color:#0080aa; font-size:18pt; Where an offender has used their good character or status to facilitate or conceal the offending it could be treated as an aggravating factor. The court should consider whether having regard to the criteria contained in Chapter 6 of Part 10 of the Sentencing Code it would be appropriate to impose an extended sentence (sections 266 and 279). (2) The court must treat as an aggravating factor each relevant previous conviction that it considers can reasonably be so treated, having regard in particular to (a) the nature of the offence to which the conviction relates and its relevance to the current offence, and (b) the time that has elapsed since the conviction. border-style:solid; The court must determine whether the weapon or weapon equivalent is highly dangerous on the facts and circumstances of the case. There may be many reasons for these differences, but in order to apply the guidelines fairly sentencers may find useful information and guidance at Chapter 8 paragraphs 186 to 194 of the Equal Treatment Bench Book. In order for an abuse of trust to make an offence more serious the relationship between the offender and victim(s) must be one that would give rise to the offender having a significant level of responsibility towards the victim(s) on which the victim(s) would be entitled to rely. Disqualification until a test is passed, 6. Where the current offence is significantly less serious than the previous conviction (suggesting a decline in the gravity of offending), the previous conviction may carry less weight. Examples may include relationships such as teacher and pupil, parent and child, employer and employee, professional adviser and client, or carer (whether paid or unpaid) and dependant. Community orders can fulfil all of the purposes of sentencing. In order for an abuse of trust to make an offence more serious the relationship between the offender and victim(s) must be one that would give rise to the offender having a significant level of responsibility towards the victim(s) on which the victim(s) would be entitled to rely. Consider a more onerous penalty of the same type identified for the basic offence. Sentencers must consider all available disposals at the time of sentence; even where the threshold for a community sentence has been passed, a fine or discharge may be an appropriate penalty. iii) Where the court imposes two or more sentences to be served consecutively, the court may suspend the sentence where the aggregate of the terms is between 14 days and 2 years (subject to magistrates courts sentencing powers). 19:58 Mon 11th Jan 2016. Note in particular paragraph 5 for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic offenders. Similarly, a commitment to address other underlying issues that may influence the offenders behaviour may justify the imposition of a sentence that focusses on rehabilitation. border-color:#ffffff; An immature offender may find it particularly difficult to cope with the requirements of a community order without appropriate support. Section 174 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 imposes a duty to give reasons for, and explain the effect of, the sentence. Offence motivated by, or demonstrating hostility based on any of the following characteristics or presumed characteristics of the victim: disability, sexual orientation or transgender identity, Offence was committed against an emergency worker acting in the exercise of functions as such a worker, Offence was committed against person providing a public service, performing a public duty or providing services to the public, Offence committed against those working in the public sector or providing a service to the public or against a person coming to the assistance of an emergency worker, Offence committed in prison (where not taken into account as a statutory aggravating factor), Any steps taken to prevent the victim reporting an incident, obtaining assistance and/or from assisting or supporting the prosecution, Commission of offence whilst under the influence of alcohol/drugs, Offence committed whilst on licence or post sentence supervision, Failure to comply with current court orders, No previous convictions or no relevant/recent convictions, Mental disorder or learning disability, where not linked to the commission of the offence, Sole or primary carer for dependent relative(s), Determination and/or demonstration of steps taken to address addiction or offending behaviour, Serious medical conditions requiring urgent, intensive or long-term treatment.