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Using Court Records for Sentencing Research: Pitfalls and Possibilities

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Book cover Exploring Sentencing Practice in England and Wales

Abstract

Between June 2011 and June 2012, over 1.25 million offenders were sentenced in England and Wales (Ministry of Justice, 2012). The vast majority (92%) of sentences were passed by the magistrates’ courts, where sentencing powers are limited to a maximum of 6 months in custody for a single offence. The remaining minority of sentences were passed in the Crown Court, which does not have such restraints. Two-thirds (66%) of the sentences imposed were fines. Community sentences/orders comprised 13% of sentences passed, followed by custodial sentences (12%; where 4% were suspended and the average length was 15 months). Finally, conditional or absolute discharges represented approximately 7% of sentences (Ministry of Justice, 2012).

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Authors
  1. Mandeep Dhami
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  2. Ian Belton
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Oxford, UK

    Julian V. Roberts (Professor of Criminology) (Professor of Criminology)

Copyright information

© 2015 Mandeep Dhami and Ian Belton

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Dhami, M., Belton, I. (2015). Using Court Records for Sentencing Research: Pitfalls and Possibilities. In: Roberts, J.V. (eds) Exploring Sentencing Practice in England and Wales. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137390400_2

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