Theft Offences Guideline: Consultation - Justice Committee Contents


1  Report


1. Pursuant to section 120 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 the Justice Select Committee must be consulted on proposed draft sentencing guidelines issued by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales. The proposed Theft Offences Guideline was issued by the Sentencing Council on 3 April 2014, with a closing date for responses of 26 June 2014. It will provide, in a single document, up-to-date guidance to replace the existing 2008 Guideline Theft and burglary in a building other than a dwelling, and the guidance on theft offences contained within the Magistrates' Court Sentencing Guideline.

2. The draft guideline is split into separate guidelines for (i) theft from a shop or stall (ii) general theft (iii) abstracting electricity (iv) making off without payment (v) handling stolen goods and (vi) going equipped for theft or burglary.

3. For our consideration of the proposed Guideline, on 2 July 2014 we held a seminar with a number of key stakeholders to consider various matters, namely the guideline's treatment of culpability and harm factors, mitigating and aggravating factors, and sentence levels, with particular reference to the use of short custodial sentences. We would like to thank all those who attended our seminar. We are also grateful to the Sentencing Council for agreeing that we could submit comments to them after the conclusion of their formal consultation period.

4. We publish this short report to draw the House's attention to this Guideline, and to our views on it, which are set out in the annexed letter to the Sentencing Council. We also annex a list of organisations which were represented at our seminar.


 
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Prepared 17 July 2014