Consistency in sentencing

Descriptions

One of the Sentencing Council's key objectives is to promote greater consistency in sentencing. While there is no universally accepted definition of consistency in sentencing, the general concept is clear: similar offenders who commit similar offences in similar circumstances would be expected to receive similar sentencing outcomes. However, it is difficult to measure whether greater consistency has been achieved by the Council's guidelines. The Sentencing Council's aim is for guidelines to promote consistency of approach to sentencing. This consistency of approach should then lead to consistent outcomes where all of the facts of a case and offender circumstances are the same. Focusing only on final sentences would not provide an accurate picture of whether sentencing is consistent, as it would not be possible to tell whether the offences being compared are truly comparable.