The Sentencing Advisory Panel has today published a proposal that the Court of Appeal should issue new sentencing guidelines on domestic burglary.

Based on the findings of a public opinion survey carried out for the Panel, the proposal describes a 'standard' burglary, for sentencing purposes, as involving:

• the theft of electrical goods such as a television or video,
• the theft of personal items such as jewellery;
• damage caused by the break-in itself,
• some turmoil in the house, such as drawers upturned or damage to some items,
• no injury or violence, but some trauma, to the victim.

For this type of offence, the Panel proposes that the appropriate sentence would be 9 months' imprisonment for a first-time domestic burglar, 18 months for a second-time domestic burglar, and three years for an offender with two or more previous convictions for domestic burglary. This takes account of the statutory minimum sentence of three years for a third conviction of domestic burglary.

Building on existing guidelines from the Court of Appeal, the Panel also identifies features that would make a particular offence of domestic burglary more serious than another. 'Medium level' aggravating features include the theft of goods of high economic or sentimental value. 'High level' aggravating features, which would suggest a more significantly increased sentence, include the use or threat of force against the victim, and the deliberate targeting of vulnerable victims (including 'deception' or 'distraction' burglaries of the elderly).

Notes for editors

1. The Sentencing Advisory Panel is an independent advisory and consultative body constituted under sections 80 and 81 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. The Panel is sponsored by the Home Office and the Lord Chancellor's Department. It started work on 1 July 1999. Its function is to provide fully researched, objective advice to the Court of Appeal to assist the Court when it frames or revises sentencing guidelines.

2. Domestic burglary (or 'burglary in a dwelling') is an offence which may be tried either summarily in a magistrates' court or on indictment at the Crown Court. The maximum penalty is 6 months' imprisonment when the offence is tried summarily, and 14 years' imprisonment on indictment. The Court of Appeal issued sentencing guidelines on domestic burglary in R v Brewster and others [1998] 1 Cr App R (S) 181.

3. Section 111 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 (formerly section 4 of the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997) creates a presumptive minimum sentence of three years' custody for a third conviction of domestic burglary. This provision applies where an offender has been convicted and sentenced for burglary three times after the commencement of the section, which came into force on 1 December 1999.

4. The Panel issued a consultation paper on sentencing in cases of domestic burglary on 26 March 2001. On the same date the Panel published a research report, by Neil Russell of Research Surveys of Great Britain (RSGB) and Professor Rod Morgan of Bristol University, which set out the results of a public attitudes survey commissioned by the Panel on sentencing in domestic burglary.

5. The Panel has previously published proposals that the Court of Appeal should issue guidance on:

• Environmental offences (published 1 March 2000)
• Possession of offensive weapons (published 22 May 2000)
• Importation and possession of opium (published 14 June 2000 and adopted by the Court of Appeal in R v Mashaollahi [2001] 1 Cr App R (S) 96
• Racially aggravated offences (published 29 August 2000 and adopted by the Court of Appeal in R v Kelly and Donnelly (6 February 2001))
• Handling stolen goods (published 13 March 2001 and adopted by the Court of Appeal in R v Webbe and others (2 May 2001))
• Extended sentences (published 1 November 2001 and adopted by the Court of Appeal in Nelson [2002] 1 Cr App R (S) 565
• Minimum terms in murder cases (published 23 April 2002)

6. The Panel's most recent consultation paper was on sentencing of offences involving child pornography. The consultation period ended on 10 April 2002.

7. Copies of the Panel's advice may be obtained from: Gareth Sweny, Sentencing Advisory Panel, Room 101, Clive House, Petty France, London SW1H 9HD (telephone 020 7271 8336); e-mail sap-secretariat@beeb.net). Copies of the research report which was published last year are available from the same address. The advice and the research report are also available on the Panel's website: http://www.sentencing-advisory-panel.gov.uk The website has recently been fundamentally redesigned, to make it more accessible and easier to navigate.