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The Criminal Justice Act 2003 (CJA 2003) came into force in April 2005 and as aresult, the way the criminal justice system works has changed. The aim of the Act is to reduce crime and re-offending by updating the criminal justice system. Changes to the sentencing framework will make it more effective, targeting prison sentences on more serious offenders. This will mean that the prison population can be more effectively managed. An anticipated outcome of the Act is the increased use of Community Orders to enhance flexibility and commitment to rehabilitation. The intention is to focus or reserve custody for dangerous, persistent and more serious offenders and move low level offenders away from inappropriate custodial sentences.
Focus is also placed on the increased use of fines by allowing them to be used instead of or alongside other community and custodial sentences. In particular the intention is for the fine to be used for low risk offenders as an alternative to Community Orders.
The Act seeks to make a distinction between dangerous and other offenders. Release from prison at the half-way point therefore, will be automatic for most prisoners serving sentences of 12 months or more who will then remain on licence for the remainder of their sentence. Discretionary licensed release will be reserved for more dangerous offenders.
Research has shown that custodial sentences with a supervised licence are significantly more effective in reducing further offending than those without a licence.
Intermittent custody coupled with supervised licence periods has also been introduced on the basis of this research. For rehabilitation to be effective it is important for a prisoner to maintain family ties, a home and a job and so on. This provision is currently being piloted in several areas and may be rolled out nationally at a future date.
The Sentencing Guidelines Council (SGC) was also established in April 2004 as part of the Act. This body provides guidance on sentencing to be followed by the courts. It is also responsible for monitoring and publishing information on sentencing.
Of the fourteen parts and thirty eight schedules, the part which will have most impact on the Probation Service is Part 12 - Sentencing.
For more informaton on our work go to the various pages in the 'Our Roles' » section.
The new sentence provisions only apply to offences committed on or after 4th April 2005. Therefore, many cases being dealt with after 4th April where the offence was committed before this date will be subject to the CJA 1991 framework and existing sentence provisions will need to be considered by the courts.
These sentences include:
and they will eventually disappear.
Available under the new Act are:
New recall arrangements for recalls requested on or after 4th April 2005 will apply to all offenders on licence, including those serving existing sentences. Any sentences relating to offences committed before 4th April 2005, will be subject to the new recall arrangements, but any action taken as a result of recall must remain consistent with the current rules.
All existing offenders will continue to serve the sentences they were given.
The purpose of such reports is to provide the sentencing court with information about the offender and to assist the court in deciding on a suitable sentence. A pre-sentence report is required unless it is deemed unnecessary by the court. The CJA 2003 has streamlined the system to resolve the problems of delays in the preparation of reports.
A number of different types of report can be requested by the court:
For the first time the purposes of sentencing have been included in legislation.
These are:
Whilst some sentences may meet one purpose, most will meet several. Sentencers will state the intended purpose of the sentence when it is being made.
The sentencing process starts with the court making an assessment of seriousness which is determined by two parameters: the culpability of the offender and the harm actually caused or risked being caused by the offender when committing the offence.
A court will decide upon a sentence - custody, Community Order and other sentence thresholds as well as length and degree of restriction - based upon the 'seriousness' (as above) and the Sentencing Council Guidelines.
In order to allow the court greater flexibility to tailor the sentence to the individual offender the Community Order will include one or more of 12 requirements. A Community Order can be imposed for up to 3 years. Requirements have limitations on the maximum and minimum time they can run for.
The requirements are as follows:
Leaflets explaining these requirements are available here »
Where an offender fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with one or more requirements, the 'responsible officer' can either give a warning or initiate breach proceedings.
Where the offender fails to comply without reasonable excuse for the second time within a 12-month period, the 'responsible officer' must initiate proceedings. In such proceedings the court must either increase the severity of the existing sentence (i.e. impose more onerous conditions including requirements aimed at enforcement, such as a curfew or supervision requirement) or revoke the existing sentence and proceed as though sentencing for the original offence. The court is required to take account of the circumstances of the breach.
Custody is still an available sentence where the level of seriousness demands it. There are several different kinds of custodial sentences ...
This is a custodial sentence, but is suspended for a period ranging from six months to two years. During this period, the court sets a limited number of requirements from the same set of options that are available for the Community Order (as above). A breach would result in a return to court for the original custodial sentence to be imposed or, in some cases, the suspended sentence order to be continued but made more onerous.
For those offenders who are not convicted of serious sexual or violent offences, this custodial sentence of 12 months or longer can be imposed. There are four key differences between this new determinate sentence and the ACR and DCR arrangements from the previous sentencing regime:
This indeterminate sentence must be imposed on adult offenders convicted of sexual and violent offences where the court judges that there is "significant risk to members of the public of serious harm" from further offences and where the offence carries a maximum penalty of 10 years or over. The IPP is similar to a life sentence in that the court will set a tariff period, after which release is at the discretion of the Parole Board. On release the offender will be subject to supervision on licence for at least 10 years, after which time the Parole Board may revoke the licence, otherwise it will continue. An indeterminate Detention for Public Protection sentence is available for juveniles.
Where the sexual or violent offence committed carries a maximum penalty of less than 10 years, this sentence is required in the same circumstances as the IPP. The court must set a custodial period and extended licence period. The offender may be released on the Parole Board's recommendation at any time between the halfway point and the completion of the custodial period. The extended licence period may be up to five years for violent offenders and eight years for sexual offenders.
Custody Plus will replace the current custodial sentence of less than 12 months, the major difference being that all offenders who serve less than 12 months imprisonment will be subject to a period of licence on release, whereas now the Probation Service is not involved with this group.
A sentence of up to twelve months may be served intermittently either at weekends or weekdays. Between periods of custody the offender will be on licence which can include the same requirements as a Community Order with the exception of the treatment requirements (mental health, alcohol and drug treatment). Licences should also include 'standard conditions' i.e. a requirement to be of good behaviour and to live where reasonably approved by his or her supervising officer. The aim of this provision is that the offender can maintain family and community ties at the same time as serving the sentence. However, it is not suitable for those who would present a serious risk of harm if they were to come into the community.
A court has been able to defer a sentence for up to six months, provided the offender consents and the court considers that deferring the sentence is in the interests of justice. The new provisions continue to require the consent of the offender and that the court be satisfied that the making of such a decision is in the interests of justice. However, it is also stated that the power to defer sentence can only be exercised where: "the offender undertakes to comply with any requirements as to his conduct during the period of the deferment that the court considers it appropriate to impose." If the offender commits another offence during the deferment period the court may have the power to sentence for both the original and the new offence at once.
Sentence cannot be deferred for more than six months and, in most circumstances, no more than one period of deferment can be granted.
A link to The Criminal Justice Act 2003 in pdf format » from a Home Office website
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