RT Article
T1 Mind the step: A more insightful and robust analysis of the sentencing process in England and Wales under the new sentencing guidelines
JF Criminology & criminal justice
VO 20
IS 3
SP 268
OP 301
A1 Pina-Sánchez, Jose
A2 Li, Guangquan 1982-
A2 Brunton-Smith, Ian
LA English
YR 2020
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1786220172
AB The ‘England and Wales Sentencing Guidelines’ aim to promote consistency by organizing the sentencing process as a sequence of steps, with initial judicial assessments subsequently adjusted to reflect relevant case characteristics. Yet, existing evaluations of the guidelines have failed to incorporate this structure adequately, instead concentrating solely on sentence outcomes. We use multivariate multilevel models to offer new insights into the decisions made throughout the sentencing process. Focusing on cases of assault sentenced at the Crown Court we show that the level of compliance with the guidelines is high. However, we also show that some case characteristics are being unduly considered at more than one stage of the sentencing process, meaning existing studies may be underestimating their true influence.
K1 Compliance
K1 Crown Court
K1 Consistency
K1 Mediating effects
K1 Multivariate multilevel modelling
K1 Sentencing Guidelines
DO 10.1177/1748895818811891