Keep up to date on sentencing guidelines, consultations, our research and news about the Council and our work. The maximum sentence for s20 is five years' imprisonment. If you feel you do require legal advice and representation please not hesitate to contact us by calling 0345 222 9955 or by filling out our contact form. The clear intention of the threshold test is to reserve prison as a punishment for the most serious offences. Menu. Disqualification from driving general power, 10. Aggravated nature of the offence caused severe distress to the victim or the victims family (over and above the distress already considered at step one). The court must determine whether the weapon or weapon equivalent is highly dangerous on the facts and circumstances of the case. It may also include ad hoc situations such as a late-night taxi driver and a lone passenger. The court should determine the offence category with reference only to the factors listed in the tables below. Evidence that an offender has demonstrated positive good character through, for example, charitable works may reduce the sentence. Whosoever shall unlawfully and maliciously wound or inflict any grievous bodily harm upon any other person, either with or without any weapon or instrument, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and being convicted thereof shall be liable to be kept in penal servitude. Aggravated nature of the offence caused serious fear and distress throughout local community or more widely. This reflects the psychological harm that may be caused to those who witnessed the offence. (2) The court, (a) must treat the fact that the offence is aggravated by hostility of any of those types as an aggravating factor, and. Our criteria for developing or revising guidelines. #nf-form-12-cont { Any appropriate rehabilitative requirement(s), Curfew requirement for example up to 16 hours per day for a few weeks**, Curfew requirement for example up to 16 hours per day for 2 3 months**, Exclusion requirement lasting in the region of 6 months, Curfew requirement for example up to 16 hours per day for 4 12 months**, Exclusion requirement lasting in the region of 12 months. Disqualification of company directors, 16. (1) This section applies where a court is considering the seriousness of an offence listed in subsection (3). The imposition of a custodial sentence is both punishment and a deterrent. The new guidelines, which apply to adult offenders, will bring a consistent approach to sentencing assault offences and help sentencers make a balanced assessment of the seriousness of those offences and impose appropriate and proportionate sentences. Inflicting grievous bodily harm/ Unlawful wounding must, in sentencing an offender, follow any sentencing guidelines which are relevant to the offenders case, and. * If order does not contain a punitive requirement, suggested fine levels are indicated below: **Note: Changes to the curfew requirements brought in by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 are set out in the Requirements section in the Overarching Guideline: Imposition of community and custodial sentences, but are not reflected in the ranges above. Identifying weaknesses within the prosecution case; Establishing whether the prosecution can place our client at the scene during the alleged offence, Determining whether the injuries amount to serious harm, Determining whether the prosecution can prove that the accused had the intent to cause a wound or apply some harm, Evaluating the strength of the prosecution evidence, Assessing the credibility of prosecution witnesses. Magistrates may find that, although the appropriate sentence for the basic offence would be within their powers, the appropriate increase for the aggravated offence would result in a sentence in excess of their powers. Consider a more onerous penalty of the same type identified for the basic offence. Disqualification from driving general power, 10. The court should consider whether having regard to the criteria contained in Chapter 6 of Part 10 of the Sentencing Code it would be appropriate to impose an extended sentence (sections 266 and 279). In cases involving significant persistent offending, the community and custody thresholds may be crossed even though the current offence normally warrants a lesser sentence. (i) the victims membership (or presumed membership) of a racial group. The prospect of death in the near future will be a matter considered by the prison authorities and the Secretary of State under the early release on compassionate grounds procedure (ERCG). border-color:#ffffff; iv) When the court suspends a sentence, it may impose one or more requirements for the offender to undertake in the community. What is the difference between a Section 18 and a Section 20 assault? See also the Sentencing Children and Young People Guideline (paragraphs 6.1 to 6.3). The court will need to be satisfied that the offender is genuinely remorseful for the offending behaviour in order to reduce the sentence (separate from any guilty plea reduction). (2) It is immaterial for the purposes of subsection (1) whether the employment or engagement is paid or unpaid. When an immediate custodial sentence is necessary, the court must consider whether proper arrangements have been made for the care of any dependent children and if necessary consider adjourning sentence for this to be done. Whenever the court reaches the provisional view that a community order may be appropriate, it should request a pre-sentence report (whether written or verbal) unless the court is of the opinion that a report is unnecessary in all the circumstances of the case. This applies whether the victim is a public or private employee or acting in a voluntary capacity. It provides guidance which sentencers are encouraged to take into account wherever applicable, to ensure that there is fairness for all involved in court proceedings. In particular, they can have the effect of restricting the offenders liberty while providing punishment in the community, rehabilitation for the offender, and/or ensuring that the offender engages in reparative activities. Generally the sentence for the new offence will be consecutive to the sentence being served as it will have arisen out of an unrelated incident. The extent to which the offender has complied with the conditions of a licence or order (including the time that has elapsed since its commencement) will be a relevant consideration. (4) For the purposes of this section, an offence is aggravated by hostility of one of the kinds mentioned in subsection (1) if, (a) at the time of committing the offence, or immediately before or after doing so, the offender demonstrated towards the victim of the offence hostility based on. Criminal justice where does the Council fit? In considering this the court must NOT consider any licence or post sentence supervision requirements which may subsequently be imposed upon the offenders release. The court should take into account sections 73 and 74 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (assistance by defendants: reduction or review of sentence) and any other rule of law by virtue of which an offender may receive a discounted sentence in consequence of assistance given (or offered) to the prosecutor or investigator. Where any such actions are the subject of separate charges, this should be taken into account when assessing totality. #nf-form-12-cont .nf-error-field-errors { .nf-form-content .nf-field-container #nf-field-85-wrap { Consider a significantly more onerous penalty of the same type or consider a more severe type of sentence than for the basic offence. When assessing whether a previous conviction is recent the court should consider the time gap since the previous conviction and the reason for it. This reflects the psychological harm that may be caused to those who witnessed the offence. Company Registration No. Firstly, for ABH, the harm caused could be temporary, or mild, whereas for GBH, the harm must be really serious. Abuse of trust may occur in many factual situations. * If order does not contain a punitive requirement, suggested fine levels are indicated below: **Note: Changes to the curfew requirements brought in by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 are set out in the Requirements section in the Overarching Guideline: Imposition of community and custodial sentences, but are not reflected in the ranges above. The magistrates' court will decline jurisdiction in those cases where it considers its powers of sentencing are insufficient. color:#0080aa; Sentencers should be aware that there is evidence of a disparity in sentence outcomes for this offence which indicates that a higher proportion of Black, Mixed and Chinese or Other ethnicity offenders receive an immediate custodial sentence than White and Asian offenders. Where no offence specific guideline is available to determine seriousness, the harm caused by the offence, the culpability of the offender and any previous convictions will be relevant to the assessment. Applicability Step 1 - Determining the offence category The court should determine the offence category with reference only to the factors listed in the tables below. Where an offender has turned 18 between the commission of the offence and conviction the court should take as its starting point the sentence likely to have been imposed on the date at which the offence was committed, but applying the purposes of sentencing adult offenders. the fact that someone is working in the public interest merits the additional protection of the courts. the fact that someone is working in the public interest merits the additional protection of the courts. In many cases, a pre-sentence report will be pivotal in helping the court decide whether to impose a community order and, if so, whether particular requirements or combinations of requirements are suitable for an individual offender. } (v) hostility towards persons who are transgender. There is a greater capacity for change in immature offenders and they may be receptive to opportunities to address their offending behaviour and change their conduct. Crime and Disorder Act 1998, s.29, Offences against the Person Act 1861, s.20, Effective from: to be confirmed (draft for consultation only), Inflicting grievous bodily harm/ Unlawful wounding, Offences against the Person Act 1861, s.20 Racially or religiously aggravated GBH/ Unlawful wounding, Crime and Disorder Act 1998, s.29, Offence range: Community order 4 years 6 months custody. LOW LEVEL OF RACIAL OR RELIGIOUS AGGRAVATION. border-color:#000000; Commission of an offence while subject to a. (iii) hostility towards persons who have a disability or a particular disability, (iv) hostility towards persons who are of a particular sexual orientation, or (as the case may be). (4) For the purposes of subsection (2) the circumstances in which an offence is to be taken as committed against a person acting in the exercise of functions as an emergency worker include circumstances where the offence takes place at a time when the person is not at work but is carrying out functions which, if done in work time, would have been in the exercise of functions as an emergency worker. All cases will involve really serious harm, which can be physical or psychological, or wounding. Ideally a pre-sentence report should be completed on the same day to avoid adjourning the case. Our criteria for developing or revising guidelines. In order to determine the category the court should assess culpability and harm. i) The guidance regarding pre-sentence reports applies if suspending custody. .nf-form-content .nf-field-container #nf-field-85-wrap .nf-field-label label { Previous convictions of a type different from the current offence. This applies regardless of whether the offender is under the influence of legal or illegal substance(s). What are the sentencing guidelines for GBH Section 18 offences? A person charged under Section 20 will always require legal representation as soon as they have been charged. Sentencers must consider all available disposals at the time of sentence; even where the threshold for a community sentence has been passed, a fine or discharge may be an appropriate penalty. Care should be taken to avoid double counting factors including those already taken into account in assessing culpability or harm. border-color:#000000; the highlighted tabs will appear when you. Click on this link to the Guidance Page to view the following: Standard File Structure (revised March 2018) - setting out to which section items should be uploaded. Having determined the category, the court should use the corresponding starting points to reach a sentence within the category range below. iii) Where the court imposes two or more sentences to be served consecutively, the court may suspend the sentence where the aggregate of the terms is between 14 days and 2 years (subject to magistrates courts sentencing powers). The court can take account of physical disability or a serious medical condition by way of mitigation as a reason for reducing the length of the sentence, either on the ground of the greater impact which imprisonment will have on the offender, or as a matter of generally expressed mercy in the individual circumstances of the case. A conviction of wounding or GBH under S. 20 represents the lesser offence which carries a maximum penalty of 5 years imprisonment. Sentences should not necessarily escalate from one community order range to the next on each sentencing occasion. border-style:solid; (ii) services in the support of the provision of NHS health services, and whose general activities in doing so involve face to face interaction with individuals receiving the services or with other members of the public. color:#0080aa; A copy of the SRA Code of Conduct can be found at www.sra.org.uk. A community order must not be imposed unless the offence is serious enough to warrant such a sentence. 3) What is the shortest term commensurate with the seriousness of the offence? Typically, sentences for GBH Section 18 offences can be anywhere from three years to a maximum of life imprisonment. A wound is the breaking of the skin. Where an offender has been given an inappropriate level of responsibility, abuse of trust is unlikely to apply. If the offender received a non-custodial disposal for the previous offence, a court should not necessarily move to a custodial sentence for the fresh offence. The level of culpability is determined by weighing all the factors of the case. Posted on July 4, 2022 by . For further information see Imposition of community and custodial sentences. In the case of a person addicted to drugs or alcohol the intoxication may be considered not to be voluntary, but the court should have regard to the extent to which the offender has sought help or engaged with any assistance which has been offered or made available in dealing with the addiction. Where the offender is a care leaver the court should enquire as to any effect a sentence may have on the offenders ability to make use of support from the local authority. (3) So far as it relates to racial and religious hostility, this section does not apply in relation to an offence under sections 29 to 32 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (racially or religiously aggravated offences). (ii) hostility towards members of a religious group based on their membership of that group. If an adjournment cannot be avoided, the information should be provided to the Probation Service in written form and a copy retained on the court file for the benefit of the sentencing court. There are common elements of the two offences. The presence of one or more children may in some situations make the primary victim more vulnerable for example an adult may be less able to resist the offender if concerned about the safety or welfare of children present. (ii) the victims membership (or presumed membership) of a religious group. In British law, a conspiracy is any plot, plan or agreement that is assumed, implied or expressed. These are specified violent offences. Company Registration, Kang & Co Solicitors is a truly specialist high-end law firm providing advice and representation privately for all, Registered Office: 1 Victoria Square, Birmingham, B1 1BD, Kang & Co Solicitors 2023 All Rights Reserved. Care should be taken to avoid double counting factors including those already taken into account in assessing culpability or harm or those inherent in the offence. To determine whether the magistrates' court is likely to accept or decline . Care should be taken to avoid double counting factors including those already taken into account in assessing culpability or harm or those inherent in the offence. In particular young adults (typically aged 18-25) are still developing neurologically and consequently may be less able to: Young adults are likely to be susceptible to peer pressure and are more likely to take risks or behave impulsively when in company with their peers. In general, only one requirement will be appropriate and the length may be curtailed if additional requirements are necessary, More intensive sentences which combine two or more requirements may be appropriate. 3. micky022. 3) What is the shortest term commensurate with the seriousness of the offence? E+W. Where there are characteristics present which fall under different levels of culpability, the court should balance these characteristics giving appropriate weight to relevant factors to reach a fair assessment of the offenders culpability. Section 20 GBH is a very serious criminal offence which usually results in a lengthy prison sentence. Where an offender deliberately causes additional harm to a victim over and above that which is an essential element of the offence - this will increase seriousness. These examples are not exhaustive and do not necessarily indicate that abuse of trust is present. color:#0080aa; 1M384696 . This offence is committed when a person unlawfully and maliciously, either wounds another person; or inflicts grievous bodily harm upon another person.