Are new sentencing rules creating two-tier justice?

A new set of guidelines for magistrates and judges has been published by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales.

- SEAN O'GRADY

In today’s politically charged atmosphere, with allegations flying around on social media of two-tier policing” and two-tier justice,” any hint of weakness in the justice system gets seized upon, sometimes by malign actors.

A suggestion that courts might care to ask for pre-sentencing reports in certain circumstances, including on grounds of ethnicity, have been widely condemned both by the justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, and her Conservative shadow, Robert Jenrick.

What is the Sentencing Council?

It is an independent body for England and Wales that tries to ensure the penalties dished out to offenders are lawful as well as fair and proportionate. The guidelines on sentencing are just that: guides, rather than hard rules.

Members of the council are appointed by the lord chief justice with the approval of the lord chancellor, who is normally the justice secretary. It is accountable to parliament for the way it spends its money, but it is not accountable to politicians for its “policy” – as is traditional in a country with a (still) independent judiciary. Otherwise, politicians could lock up people (individuals or groups) they don’t like. Indeed, Mahmood is obliged by the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, which set up the council, to protect its independence – which, arguably, she is failing to do.

What’s the problem?