NCJ Number
138773
Date Published
1992
Length
39 pages
Annotation
The British Criminal Justice Act, 1991, lays down new statutory criteria governing the use of custodial sentences which are, in some significant ways, different from the criteria established by the 1982 and 1988 Criminal Justice Acts.
Abstract
The 1991 Act stipulates that a court shall not impose a custodial sentence on a juvenile offender unless the offense was so serious that only a custodial sentence can be justified, or in cases of violent or sexual offenses, where incarceration is necessary for the public safety. The Act governs the length of custodial sentences, which are to be commensurate with offense seriousness. An offense may not be regarded as more serious because of an offender's previous criminal history unless those other offenses disclose aggravating circumstances of the current offense. Unlike the previous statutes, there is no criterion in this Act justifying custody on grounds relating to the offender's inability or unwillingness to respond to noncustodial penalties. Selected Court of Appeals judgments from the period between 1983 and 1988, and after 1988 are summarized. 4 appendixes