The Sentencing Advisory Panel has today issued another in its series of consultation papers on important issues about sentencing in criminal cases.

Part 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, which is scheduled for implementation on 1 May 2004, contains a total of 54 offences. Some existing offences have been revised or repealed and a number of new offences have been introduced. 42 offences are discussed in the consultation paper published today; the remaining 12 offences, which relate to trafficking for sexual exploitation and exploitation through prostitution and pornography, will be the subject of a second consultation paper that the Panel intends to publish in the next few months.

The offences in the new Act are designed to protect everyone from all types of sexual exploitation and abuse and they cover a very wide range of offending behaviour. Building on its previous advice on rape, published in 2000 and adopted by the Court of Appeal in Millberry and Others [2003] 1 Cr App R (S) 396, the Panel has proposed sentencing guidelines that link custodial and non-custodial sentences to the seriousness of the offending behaviour.

The Panel asks a number of questions about the relative seriousness of different sexual offences and the appropriate starting points for sentencing. This is a complex and sensitive area of the law that touches upon the lives of many people. The Panel is therefore anxious to hear as many views as possible.

Responses to the consultation paper should be received by Friday 14 May 2004.

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 Department for Constitutional Affairs. It started work on 1 July 1999. Its function, prior to implementation of the relevant provisions in the Criminal Justice Act 2003, was to provide fully researched, objective advice to the Court of Appeal to assist the Court when it frames or revises sentencing guidelines.
2. The Criminal Justice Act 2003 establishes a new Sentencing Guidelines Council to take over responsibility for issuing sentencing guidelines. With effect from 27 February 2004 the Sentencing Advisory Panel will submit its advice to the Council rather than to the Court of Appeal. The Panel will be able to offer advice on general sentencing principles as well as specific offences.
3. Part 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, which will come into force in May 2004, implements, with some relatively minor changes, the recommendations stemming from the Home Office review of sex offences which were published in the report Setting the Boundaries.The Act creates a number of new offences, as well as redefining some existing offences and, in some instances, changing the maximum penalties.
4. The Panel believes it would be helpful for the Sentencing Guidelines Council to issue sentencing guidelines on the whole range of sexual offences, for use by sentencers when the new legislation is in force. In its consultation paper the Panel considers first what general principles might be applied in assessing the seriousness of an individual sexual offence and the relative seriousness of different offences. It then considers in more detail the specific features of each offence (or group of offences) and suggests starting points for sentencing and the aggravating and mitigating features that may influence the disposal in any individual case.
5. The Panel’s most recent proposal, that the Court of Appeal should frame a sentencing guideline on alcohol and tobacco smuggling, was published on 10th July 2003. The Court of Appeal issued a sentencing guideline, based on the Panel’s advice, in the case of Czyzewski and others on 16th July 2003. In the last year, the Court of Appeal has also made use of the Panel’s advice in guideline judgments on causing death by dangerous driving (in Cooksley and others on 3 April 2003); offences involving child pornography (in Oliver and others, 21 November 2002); on rape (in Millberry and others, 9 December 2002); and on domestic burglary (in McInerney and Keating, 20 December 2002).
6. Copies of the consultation paper may be obtained from: Gareth Sweny, Sentencing Guidelines Secretariat, Room G11, Allington Towers, 19 Allington Street, London SW1E 5EB. The document is also available on the Panel’s website:www.sentencing-advisory-panel.gov.uk
7. For more information, contact Kevin McCormac, Head of the Secretariat on 020 7035 5156.