The Sentencing Council has produced a consultation on its Overarching Principles, looking specifically at sentencing youths, sexual offences and robbery.
Details
Currently, the Overarching Principles – Sentencing Youths guideline should be considered when sentencing any offence committed by an offender aged under 18.
The consultation has been published in response to the publication of new adult guidelines for sexual offences in December 2013 and new adult robbery guidelines in January 2016. The Council decided that it would be inappropriate to produce new youth guidelines as part of the same project as it was considered that sentencing youths required a different approach. As part of this package the Council decided to review and update the Overarching Principles document, to provide a comprehensive and accessible document on the general principles to be applied when sentencing youths.
The results of the consultation will be considered in line with the results of the review of the youth justice system by Charlie Taylor, due for release in July 2016.
Details of the consultation and how to respond can be found here.