SENTENCING

The imposition of a sentence of imprisonment for public protection was held to be wrong in principle, as the pre-sentence report did not identify factors which led to a conclusion that there was a significant risk of serious harm posed by the defendant.

The risk assessment of the report was based entirely upon the perceived vulnerability of the victim and the unwillingness of the appellant to acknowledge guilt. That is an inadequate basis on which to impose an indeterminate sentence on a necessary hypothesis that there is a significant risk of serious harm from future offending.

Such a conclusion must be founded upon evidence rather than speculation or mere apprehension of some risk of future harm.

The Sentencing Guidelines Council has published Dangerous Offenders: Guide for Sentencers and Practitioners (available on its web site: www.sentencing-guidelines.gov.uk).

It contains detailed guidance—including a summary of relevant case law—on the dangerous offender provisions in CJA 2003. Annex A contains useful flow charts for both adult offenders and young offenders.