Tenth Report - Public opinion and understanding of sentencing

Select Committee
Justice Committee HC 305 25 October 2023
Report Status Government responded
Conclusions & Recommendations 31 items (12 recs)
Source View on Parliament website
Government Response (AI assessment · 31 of 31 classified)
Accepted 5
Accepted in Part 2
Acknowledged 8
Deferred 13
Not Addressed 3
Government response
Second Special Report - Public opinion and understanding of sentencing: Government and Sentencing Council responses to the Committee’s Tenth Report of Session 2022–23 · published 18 Jan 2024
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Recommendations & Conclusions

8 results
14 Conclusion Acknowledged
Para 80
Public opinion research on sentencing requires rigorous, specific methodology to avoid flaws.
Conclusion
Research on the public’s views on sentencing can play a valuable role in the policy process. However, it must be recognised that ascertaining and measuring public opinion is very difficult to do. Unless research is well-designed and methodologically rigorous then … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the pivotal role of public opinion in sentencing policy and the need for careful consideration, stating it is continually exploring ways to enhance existing engagement processes and increase public awareness.
Ministry of Justice
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15 Recommendation Acknowledged
Para 81
Adopt structured deliberative engagement exercises to gather public views on sentencing policy.
Recommendation
Given the potential importance of public opinion in influencing sentencing policy, the Government should consider adopting a structured engagement plan to gather information on the public’s views on sentencing. Whilst we recognise the value of public polling exercises, we recommend … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the pivotal role of public opinion and states it is continually exploring ways to enhance existing engagement processes and increase public awareness of involvement avenues, but does not commit to a specific structured engagement plan or regular deliberative exercises.
Ministry of Justice
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22 Conclusion Acknowledged
Para 107
Prioritise reducing sentencing complexity and improve open justice to build public confidence.
Conclusion
The relationship between public understanding of sentencing and public confidence in the criminal justice system is far from straightforward. Simplistic causal claims should be avoided. Our overall conclusion is that everyone involved in, or responsible for, the criminal justice system … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the importance of public confidence and highlights ongoing efforts and existing mechanisms like the publication of judgments, accessible sentencing remarks, and the Sentencing Act 2020 as key components.
Ministry of Justice
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23 Conclusion Acknowledged
Para 108
Address public perceptions of sentencing severity and understand public expectations to maintain confidence.
Conclusion
In relation to the current challenge to public confidence based on the persistence of the view among the public that the system is not severe enough, it is important to recognise that this represents a significant long-term public policy challenge … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the pivotal role of public opinion in sentencing policy and the need for careful consideration, stating it actively engages in policy discussions and is continually exploring ways to enhance current processes and public awareness.
Ministry of Justice
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28 Conclusion Acknowledged
Para 128
Public debate on sentencing is currently stuck in a dysfunctional and reactive cycle.
Conclusion
We agree with Bishop James Jones’ submission to this inquiry on behalf of the Independent Commission into the experience of victims and long-term Prisoners that there is a need for national debate on sentencing. This inquiry has highlighted that the … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the pivotal role of public opinion in shaping sentencing policy and that it is continually exploring ways to enhance current public engagement processes, but does not commit to initiating a national debate on sentencing.
Ministry of Justice
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29 Conclusion Acknowledged
Para 129
Improving public discourse on sentencing is crucial for greater understanding and consensus.
Conclusion
The quality of public discourse on sentencing must be improved so as to enable greater public knowledge and understanding of current sentencing practice, of Public opinion and understanding of sentencing 61 evidence on the effectiveness of different sentencing options, and … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the pivotal role of public opinion in sentencing policy and states it is continually exploring ways to enhance current engagement processes and increase public awareness of existing avenues for involvement.
Ministry of Justice
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30 Conclusion Acknowledged
Para 130
Genuine and sustained gaps exist between sentencing policy and public opinion.
Conclusion
It is also important that Government and Parliament understand where there may be genuine and sustained gaps between sentencing policy and public opinion. Whilst more difficult to measure and more subjective, whether an offender is suitably punished is an important … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the pivotal role of public opinion in shaping sentencing policy and states it is continually exploring ways to enhance current engagement processes and increase public awareness of avenues for discussion.
Ministry of Justice
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31 Recommendation Acknowledged
Actively engage public on sentencing policy using structured methods, regular polling, and independent evaluation.
Recommendation
This Government, and its successors, need to think carefully about how to engage with public opinion on sentencing. There are important choices to be made about how to ascertain public opinion and the extent to which policy should be responsive … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the pivotal role of public opinion and states it is continually exploring ways to enhance existing engagement processes and increase public awareness of involvement avenues, but does not commit to a specific structured, rigorous engagement plan or independent evaluation of policy proposals.
Ministry of Justice
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