This essay can be helpful for your CIE A levels, AS level exams or even first year law degree. All my essays have been marked by my lecturer and given good grades! This essay was awarded top in the class marks (English legal system)
s.142 of the Criminal Justice Act (CJA) 2003 states that sentencing serves as a punishment to
the offenders, deterrence of crime, reforms and rehabilitates offenders, protects the public and
aims to make reparation to people affected by their offences. The types of sentences are:
custodial, community, fines and miscellaneous sentences.
For a person aged 21 or over, a custodial sentence is a sentence of imprisonment or a
suspended sentence. A court should not pass a custodial sentence unless it considers that the
crime was so serious that only a custodial sentence is justified. Where a judge intends to
impose a custodial sentence, a pre-sentence report must be prepared by the probation service.
Custodial sentences can be suspended between six months and two years. If the offender then
commits another offence, the suspended sentence is activated. A suspended sentence may
be justified where the offender commits an offence in the belief that he or she was helping
another person. For example, The Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 abolished
suspended sentences for summary only offences.
The home detention curfew was introduced by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. Prisoners
sentenced to imprisonment may be released early. This requires the released prisoners to
remain at a certain address at set times and be subjected to electronic monitoring.
If the offence is very serious and the offender is dangerous, the offender can be sentenced with
life imprisonment. Some cases are discretionary, where the maximum sentence is for life but
the Parole Board may consider release on license. An extended sentence is when the offender
can only be released at the two thirds point of a custodial sentence and will be subject to an
extended license period under the supervision of a probation officer. However, the prisoners
spend time with other criminals and frequently acquire new ideas for criminal enterprises.
Furthermore, prisons are extremely expensive for the government.
Putting offenders under custodial sentences not only acts as retribution by punishing the
offenders but also reduces crime since it dissuades other people from committing crime, a
sentence acts as a deterrent. Moreover, by placing an offender in custody, they are prevented
from committing further offences and the public are thereby protected. This is especially
true for cases like rape and murder.
Following the Crime and Courts Act 2013, every community sentence must contain a punitive
element, such as unpaid work or a curfew order. The CJA 2003 has established a single
community order which can be applied to an adult offender who has committed an imprisonable
offence. The offender can be required to perform a specific number of between 40 and 300
hours of unpaid work over a period of 12 months.
Under curfew requirements, an offender can be ordered to remain at a specified place for
periods of not less than 2 hours or more than 16 hours in any one day for up to 12 months.
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