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The range of prison sentences a court can give - including suspended, fixed-term, indeterminate and life sentences.
If you’re sent to prison for 2 or more crimes, you’ll usually get a…
A suspended prison sentence is served in the community instead of in…
A determinate prison sentence is for a fixed length of time. It includes a…
An indeterminate prison sentence does not have a fixed length of time.…
If you’re found guilty of murder, a court must give you a life sentence. A…
If you’re under 18 you’ll be treated differently to adults by a court. You…
If you are found guilty of a crime, your sentence will depend on a number of factors, including the type, seriousness and circumstances of the crime.
What happens if you're given a community sentence or community service. Find out about Community Payback and the rules of your community sentence.
You may get a community sentence if you’re convicted of a crime by a court…
Community Payback is unpaid work like: removing graffiti clearing…
The treatment or programmes you get are intended to help with problems…
What you can and cannot do while on a community sentence is decided by: a…
Community sentences for young people are different from those given to…
Includes being charged with a crime, cautions, community sentences and police powers
This White Paper sets out the government’s proposals for important changes to the sentencing and release framework in England and Wales.
The latest versions of the Criminal Procedure Rules and of the Criminal Practice Directions made by the Lord Chief Justice.
The government has introduced the Sentencing Bill into Parliament.
The different types of court - magistrates' court, Crown Court and youth court - the crimes they deal with and the level of sentences they can give.
How to complain to the Attorney General's Office if you think someone's sentence is too low - and what happens if the Court of Appeal get involved
The Sentencing Council (SC) for England and Wales promotes greater consistency in sentencing while maintaining the independence of the judiciary. The Council produces guidelines on sentencing for the judiciary and aims to increase public understanding of sentencing. SC is an...
Guidelines on the acceptance of pleas and the prosecutor's role in the sentencing exercise (revised 2009).
Guidance on broadcasting sentencing hearings by the media and the Crown court (Recording and Broadcasting) Order 2020.
Guidance for calculating the release dates of determinate sentences imposed by the courts.
The ‘You be the Judge’ (YBTJ) website aims to show how judges and magistrates decide on the sentences they pass.
When to tell a potential employer, university, college or insurance company about a criminal record, when it becomes 'spent' and what shows up on a DBS check.
The Sentence Review Commissioners in Northern Ireland has been appointed to oversee and regulate the early release of certain prisoners convicted during the period of civil unrest.
The Sentencing Bill consolidates existing sentencing legislation in England and Wales into a new Sentencing Code.
A table of rehabilitation periods for the most common sentences and disposals, and example scenarios.
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