A honest and consistent approach to sentencing is vital to get real public confidence in the criminal justice system. We need a punishment and rehabilitation regime that makes sense to ordinary people, and which is fair, transparent and effective.
To support this aim the Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government have done a number of things:
To ensure the public have confidence and trust in the sentencing procedures of the criminal justice system, policy on sentencing must be honest, clear and straightforward – sentences must do what they say on the tin and non-custodial sentences should be beefed up to give a real alternative to jail.
There should be four categories of sentence :-
– Public Service Sentences:
– Fixed Term Sentences:
– Public Safety Sentence – Indefinite imprisonment with a minimum term:
– Life Custody:
Notes:- Restorative justice is an approach to justice that focuses on the needs of the victims and the offenders, as well as the involved community, instead of satisfying abstract legal principles or just punishing the offender. Victims take an active role in the process, while offenders are encouraged to take responsibility for their actions, “to repair the harm they’ve done-by apologising and then making amends for the harm done by returning stolen money or repairing the actual damage, or doing some other form of community service”. Restorative justice involves both victim and offender and focuses on their personal needs. In addition, it provides help for the offender in order to avoid future offences. It is based on a theory of justice that considers crime and wrongdoing to be an offence against an individual or community, rather than the state. Restorative justice that fosters dialogue between victim and offender shows the highest rates of victim satisfaction and offender accountability.