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Criminal Justice Bill


Criminal Justice Bill
Part 12 — Sentencing
Chapter 5 — Dangerous offenders

    114

 

Chapter 5

Dangerous offenders

 204   Meaning of “specified offence” etc.

     (1)    An offence is a “specified offence” for the purposes of this Chapter if it is a

specified violent offence or a specified sexual offence.

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     (2)    An offence is a “serious offence” for the purposes of this Chapter if and only

if—

           (a)           it is a specified offence, and

           (b)           it is, apart from section 205, punishable in the case of a person aged 18

or over by—

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                  (i)                 imprisonment for life, or

                  (ii)                imprisonment for a determinate period of ten years or more.

     (3)    In this Chapter—

                    “relevant offence” has the meaning given by section 209(4);

                    “serious harm” means death or serious personal injury, whether physical

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or psychological;

                    “specified violent offence” means an offence specified in Part 1 of

Schedule 11;

                    “specified sexual offence” means an offence specified in Part 2 of that

Schedule.

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 205   Life sentence or imprisonment for public protection for serious offences

     (1)    This section applies where—

           (a)           a person aged 18 or over is convicted of a serious offence committed

after the commencement of this section, and

           (b)           the court is of the opinion that there is a significant risk to members of

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the public of serious harm occasioned by the commission by him of

further specified offences.

     (2)    If—

           (a)           the offence is one in respect of which the offender would apart from this

section be liable to imprisonment for life, and

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           (b)           the court considers that the seriousness of the offence, or of the offence

and one or more offences associated with it, is such as to justify the

imposition of a sentence of imprisonment for life,

            the court must impose a sentence of imprisonment for life.

     (3)    If, in a case not falling within subsection (2), the court considers that the term

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of imprisonment which it would pass if it passed a sentence of imprisonment

otherwise than under this section would not be adequate for the purpose of

protecting the public from serious harm occasioned by the commission by the

offender of further specified offences, the court must impose a sentence of

imprisonment for public protection.

40

     (4)    A sentence of imprisonment for public protection is a sentence of

imprisonment for an indeterminate period, subject to the provisions of Chapter

2 of Part 2 of the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 (c. 43) as to the release of prisoners

and duration of licences.

 

 

Criminal Justice Bill
Part 12 — Sentencing
Chapter 5 — Dangerous offenders

    115

 

     (5)    An offence the sentence for which is imposed under this section is not to be

regarded as an offence the sentence for which is fixed by law.

 206   Detention for life or detention for public protection for serious offences

committed by those under 18

     (1)    This section applies where—

5

           (a)           a person aged under 18 is convicted of a serious offence committed

after the commencement of this section, and

           (b)           the court is of the opinion that there is a significant risk to members of

the public of serious harm occasioned by the commission by him of

further specified offences.

10

     (2)    If—

           (a)           the offence is one in respect of which the offender would apart from this

section be liable to a sentence of detention for life under section 91 of

the Sentencing Act, and

           (b)           the court considers that the seriousness of the offence, or of the offence

15

and one or more offences associated with it, is such as to justify the

imposition of a sentence of detention for life,

            the court must impose a sentence of detention for life under that section.

     (3)    If, in a case not falling within subsection (2), the court considers that none of

the other ways in which the court may legally deal with him would be

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adequate for the purpose of protecting the public from serious harm

occasioned by the commission by the offender of further specified offences, the

court must impose a sentence of detention for public protection.

     (4)    A sentence of detention for public protection is a sentence of detention for an

indeterminate period, subject to the provisions of Chapter 2 of Part 2 of the

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Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 (c. 43) as to the release of prisoners and duration of

licences.

     (5)    An offence the sentence for which is imposed under this section is not to be

regarded as an offence the sentence for which is fixed by law.

 207   Extended sentence for certain violent or sexual offences: persons 18 or over

30

     (1)    This section applies where—

           (a)           a person aged 18 or over is convicted of a specified offence, other than

a serious offence, committed after the commencement of this section,

and

           (b)           the court considers—

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                  (i)                 that there is a significant risk to members of the public of serious

harm occasioned by the commission by the offender of further

specified offences, and

                  (ii)                that the term of imprisonment which it would pass if it passed

a sentence of imprisonment otherwise than under this section

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would not be adequate for the purpose of protecting the public

from serious harm occasioned by the commission by the

offender of further specified offences.

     (2)    The court must impose on the offender an extended sentence of imprisonment,

that is to say, a sentence of imprisonment the term of which is equal to the

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aggregate of—

 

 

Criminal Justice Bill
Part 12 — Sentencing
Chapter 5 — Dangerous offenders

    116

 

           (a)           the appropriate custodial term, and

           (b)           a further period (“the extension period”) for which the offender is to be

subject to a licence and which is of such length as the court considers

necessary for the purpose of protecting members of the public from

serious harm occasioned by the commission by him of further specified

5

offences.

     (3)    In subsection (2) “the appropriate custodial term” means a term of

imprisonment (not exceeding the maximum term permitted for the offence)

which—

           (a)           is the term that would (apart from this section) be imposed in

10

compliance with section 136(2), or

           (b)           where the term that would be so imposed is a term of less than 12

months, is a term of 12 months.

     (4)    The extension period must not exceed—

           (a)           five years in the case of a specified violent offence, and

15

           (b)           nine years in the case of a specified sexual offence.

     (5)    The term of an extended sentence of imprisonment passed under this section

in respect of an offence must not exceed the maximum term permitted for the

offence.

 208   Extended sentence for certain violent or sexual offences: persons under 18

20

     (1)    This section applies where—

           (a)           a person aged under 18 is convicted of a specified offence, other than a

serious offence, committed after the commencement of this section, and

           (b)           the court considers—

                  (i)                 that there is a significant risk to members of the public of serious

25

harm occasioned by the commission by the offender of further

specified offences, and

                  (ii)                that none of the other ways in which the court may legally deal

with him would be adequate for the purpose of protecting the

public from serious harm occasioned by the commission by the

30

offender of further specified offences.

     (2)    The court must impose on the offender an extended sentence of detention, that

is to say, a sentence of detention the term of which is equal to the aggregate

of—

           (a)           the appropriate custodial term, and

35

           (b)           a further period (“the extension period”) for which the offender is to be

subject to a licence and which is of such length as the court considers

necessary for the purpose of protecting members of the public from

serious harm occasioned by the commission by him of further specified

offences.

40

     (3)    In subsection (2) “the appropriate custodial term” means such term as the court

consider appropriate, which—

           (a)           must be at least 12 months, and

           (b)           must not exceed 24 months or, if less, the maximum term of

imprisonment permitted for the offence in the case of a person aged 18

45

or over.

     (4)    The extension period must not exceed—

 

 

Criminal Justice Bill
Part 12 — Sentencing
Chapter 5 — Dangerous offenders

    117

 

           (a)           five years in the case of a specified violent offence, and

           (b)           nine years in the case of a specified sexual offence.

     (5)    The term of an extended sentence of detention passed under this section in

respect of an offence must not exceed the maximum term of imprisonment

permitted for the offence in the case of a person aged 18 or over.

5

 209   The assessment of dangerousness

     (1)    This section applies where—

           (a)           a person has been convicted of a specified offence, and

           (b)           it falls to a court to assess under any of sections 205 to 208 whether there

is a significant risk to members of the public of serious harm occasioned

10

by the commission by him of further such offences.

     (2)    If at the time when that offence was committed the offender had not been

convicted in any part of the United Kingdom of any relevant offence or was

aged under 18, the court in making the assessment referred to in subsection

(1)(b)—

15

           (a)           must take into account all such information as is available to it about

the nature and circumstances of the offence,

           (b)           may take into account any information which is before it about any

pattern of behaviour of which the offence forms part, and

           (c)           may take into account any information about the offender which is

20

before it.

     (3)    If at the time when that offence was committed the offender was aged 18 or

over and had been convicted in any part of the United Kingdom of one or more

relevant offences, the court must assume that there is such a risk as is

mentioned in subsection (1)(b) unless, after taking into account—

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           (a)           all such information as is available to it about the nature and

circumstances of each of the offences,

           (b)           where appropriate, any information which is before it about any

pattern of behaviour of which any of the offences forms part, and

           (c)           any information about the offender which is before it,

30

            the court considers that it would be unreasonable to conclude that there is such

a risk.

     (4)    In this Chapter “relevant offence” means—

           (a)           an offence committed in England and Wales that is a specified offence,

           (b)           an offence committed in Scotland that is specified in Schedule 12,

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           (c)           an offence committed in Northern Ireland that is specified in Schedule

13, or

           (d)           an offence that—

                  (i)                 is specified in Schedule 11, 12 or 13, and

                  (ii)                is constituted by an act or omission outside the United

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Kingdom.

 210   Imprisonment or detention for public protection: release on licence

Schedule 14 (release of prisoners serving sentences of imprisonment or

detention for public protection) shall have effect.

 

 

 
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