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(5) In this section “mentally disordered”, in relation to any person, means | |
suffering from a mental disorder within the meaning of the Mental Health Act | |
1983 (c. 20). | |
(6) In this section “medical report” means a report as to an offender’s mental | |
condition made or submitted orally or in writing by a registered medical | 5 |
practitioner who is approved for the purposes of section 12 of the Mental | |
Health Act 1983 by the Secretary of State as having special experience in the | |
diagnosis or treatment of mental disorder. | |
(7) Nothing in this section is to be taken to limit the generality of section 149. | |
151 Meaning of “pre-sentence report” | 10 |
(1) In this Part “pre-sentence report” means a report which— | |
(a) with a view to assisting the court in determining the most suitable | |
method of dealing with an offender, is made or submitted by an | |
appropriate officer, and | |
(b) contains information as to such matters, presented in such manner, as | 15 |
may be prescribed by rules made by the Secretary of State. | |
(2) In subsection (1) “an appropriate officer” means— | |
(a) where the offender is aged 18 or over, an officer of a local probation | |
board, and | |
(b) where the offender is aged under 18, an officer of a local probation | 20 |
board, a social worker of a local authority social services department or | |
a member of a youth offending team. | |
Disclosure of pre-sentence reports etc | |
152 Disclosure of pre-sentence reports | |
(1) This section applies where the court obtains a pre-sentence report, other than | 25 |
a report given orally in open court. | |
(2) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), the court must give a copy of the report— | |
(a) to the offender, his counsel or solicitor, and | |
(b) to the prosecutor, that is to say, the person having the conduct of the | |
proceedings in respect of the offence. | 30 |
(3) If the offender is aged under 17 and is not represented by counsel or a solicitor, | |
a copy of the report need not be given to him but must be given to his parent | |
or guardian if present in court. | |
(4) If the prosecutor is not of a description prescribed by order made by the | |
Secretary of State, a copy of the report need not be given to the prosecutor if the | 35 |
court considers that it would be inappropriate for him to be given it. | |
(5) No information obtained by virtue of subsection (2)(b) may be used or | |
disclosed otherwise than for the purpose of— | |
(a) determining whether representations as to matters contained in the | |
report need to be made to the court, or | 40 |
(b) making such representations to the court. | |
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153 Other reports of local probation boards and members of youth offending | |
teams | |
(1) This section applies where— | |
(a) a report by an officer of a local probation board or a member of a youth | |
offending team is made to any court (other than a youth court) with a | 5 |
view to assisting the court in determining the most suitable method of | |
dealing with any person in respect of an offence, and | |
(b) the report is not a pre-sentence report. | |
(2) Subject to subsection (3), the court must give a copy of the report to the | |
offender or his counsel or solicitor. | 10 |
(3) If the offender is aged under 17 and is not represented by counsel or a solicitor, | |
a copy of the report need not be given to him but must be given to his parent | |
or guardian if present in court. | |
Pre-sentence drug testing | |
154 Pre-sentence drug testing | 15 |
(1) Where a person aged 14 or over is convicted of an offence and the court is | |
considering passing a community sentence, it may make an order under | |
subsection (2) for the purpose of ascertaining whether the offender has any | |
specified Class A drug in his body. | |
(2) The order requires the offender to provide, in accordance with the order, | 20 |
samples of any description specified in the order. | |
(3) Where the offender has not attained the age of 17, the order must provide for | |
the samples to be provided in the presence of an appropriate adult. | |
(4) If it is proved to the satisfaction of the court that the offender has, without | |
reasonable excuse, failed to comply with the order it may impose on him a fine | 25 |
of an amount not exceeding level 4. | |
(5) In subsection (4) “level 4” means the amount which, in relation to a fine for a | |
summary offence, is level 4 on the standard scale. | |
(6) The court may not make an order under subsection (2) unless it has been | |
notified by the Secretary of State that the power to make such orders is | 30 |
exercisable by the court and the notice has not been withdrawn. | |
(7) The Secretary of State may by order amend subsection (1) by substituting for | |
the age for the time being specified there a different age specified in the order. | |
(8) In this section— | |
“appropriate adult”, in relation to a person under the age of 17, means— | 35 |
(a) his parent or guardian or, if he is in the care of a local authority | |
or voluntary organisation, a person representing that authority | |
or organisation, | |
(b) a social worker of a local authority social services department, | |
or | 40 |
(c) if no person falling within paragraph (a) or (b) is available, any | |
responsible person aged 18 or over who is not a police officer or | |
a person employed by the police. | |
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“specified Class A drug” has the same meaning as in Part 3 of the Criminal | |
Justice and Court Services Act 2000 (c. 43). | |
Fines | |
155 Powers to order statement as to offender’s financial circumstances | |
(1) Where an individual has been convicted of an offence, the court may, before | 5 |
sentencing him, make a financial circumstances order with respect to him. | |
(2) Where a magistrates’ court has been notified in accordance with section 12(4) | |
of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980 (c. 43) that an individual desires to plead | |
guilty without appearing before the court, the court may make a financial | |
circumstances order with respect to him. | 10 |
(3) In this section “a financial circumstances order” means, in relation to any | |
individual, an order requiring him to give to the court, within such period as | |
may be specified in the order, such a statement of his financial circumstances | |
as the court may require. | |
(4) An individual who without reasonable excuse fails to comply with a financial | 15 |
circumstances order is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding | |
level 3 on the standard scale. | |
(5) If an individual, in furnishing any statement in pursuance of a financial | |
circumstances order— | |
(a) makes a statement which he knows to be false in a material particular, | 20 |
(b) recklessly furnishes a statement which is false in a material particular, | |
or | |
(c) knowingly fails to disclose any material fact, | |
he is liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding | |
51 weeks or a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale or both. | 25 |
(6) Proceedings in respect of an offence under subsection (5) may, | |
notwithstanding anything in section 127(1) of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980 | |
(limitation of time), be commenced at any time within two years from the date | |
of the commission of the offence or within six months from its first discovery | |
by the prosecutor, whichever period expires the earlier. | 30 |
156 General power of Crown Court to fine offender convicted on indictment | |
Where a person is convicted on indictment of any offence, other than an offence | |
for which the sentence is fixed by law or falls to be imposed under section | |
110(2) or 111(2) of the Sentencing Act or under any of sections 216 to 219 of this | |
Act, the court, if not precluded from sentencing an offender by its exercise of | 35 |
some other power, may impose a fine instead of or in addition to dealing with | |
him in any other way in which the court has power to deal with him, subject | |
however to any enactment requiring the offender to be dealt with in a | |
particular way. | |
157 Fixing of fines | 40 |
(1) Before fixing the amount of any fine to be imposed on an offender who is an | |
individual, a court must inquire into his financial circumstances. | |
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(2) The amount of any fine fixed by a court must be such as, in the opinion of the | |
court, reflects the seriousness of the offence. | |
(3) In fixing the amount of any fine to be imposed on an offender (whether an | |
individual or other person), a court must take into account the circumstances | |
of the case including, among other things, the financial circumstances of the | 5 |
offender so far as they are known, or appear, to the court. | |
(4) Subsection (3) applies whether taking into account the financial circumstances | |
of the offender has the effect of increasing or reducing the amount of the fine. | |
(5) Where— | |
(a) an offender has been convicted in his absence in pursuance of section | 10 |
11 or 12 of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980 (c. 43) (non-appearance of | |
accused), or | |
(b) an offender— | |
(i) has failed to furnish a statement of his financial circumstances | |
in response to a request which is an official request for the | 15 |
purposes of section 20A of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 (c.53) | |
(offence of making false statement as to financial | |
circumstances), | |
(ii) has failed to comply with an order under section 155(1), or | |
(iii) has otherwise failed to co-operate with the court in its inquiry | 20 |
into his financial circumstances, | |
and the court considers that it has insufficient information to make a proper | |
determination of the financial circumstances of the offender, it may make such | |
determination as it thinks fit. | |
158 Remission of fines | 25 |
(1) This section applies where a court has, in fixing the amount of a fine, | |
determined the offender’s financial circumstances under section 157(5). | |
(2) If, on subsequently inquiring into the offender’s financial circumstances, the | |
court is satisfied that had it had the results of that inquiry when sentencing the | |
offender it would— | 30 |
(a) have fixed a smaller amount, or | |
(b) not have fined him, | |
it may remit the whole or part of the fine. | |
(3) Where under this section the court remits the whole or part of a fine after a term | |
of imprisonment has been fixed under section 139 of the Sentencing Act | 35 |
(powers of Crown Court in relation to fines) or section 82(5) of the Magistrates’ | |
Courts Act 1980 (magistrates’ powers in relation to default) it must reduce the | |
term by the corresponding proportion. | |
(4) In calculating any reduction required by subsection (3), any fraction of a day is | |
to be ignored. | 40 |
Savings for power to mitigate etc | |
159 Savings for powers to mitigate sentences and deal appropriately with | |
mentally disordered offenders | |
(1) Nothing in— | |
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(a) section 140 (imposing community sentences), | |
(b) sections 144, 145 or 150 (imposing custodial sentences), | |
(c) section 149 (pre-sentence reports and other requirements), | |
(d) section 157 (fixing of fines), | |
prevents a court from mitigating an offender’s sentence by taking into account | 5 |
any such matters as, in the opinion of the court, are relevant in mitigation of | |
sentence. | |
(2) Section 144(2) does not prevent a court, after taking into account such matters, | |
from passing a community sentence even though it is of the opinion that the | |
offence, or the combination of the offence and one or more offences associated | 10 |
with it, was so serious that a community sentence could not normally be | |
justified for the offence. | |
(3) Nothing in the sections mentioned in subsection (1)(a) to (d) prevents a court— | |
(a) from mitigating any penalty included in an offender’s sentence by | |
taking into account any other penalty included in that sentence, and | 15 |
(b) in the case of an offender who is convicted of one or more other | |
offences, from mitigating his sentence by applying any rule of law as to | |
the totality of sentences. | |
(4) Subsections (2) and (3) are without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1). | |
(5) Nothing in the sections mentioned in subsection (1)(a) to (d) is to be taken— | 20 |
(a) as requiring a court to pass a custodial sentence, or any particular | |
custodial sentence, on a mentally disordered offender, or | |
(b) as restricting any power (whether under the Mental Health Act 1983 | |
(c. 20) or otherwise) which enables a court to deal with an offender in | |
the manner it considers to be most appropriate in all the circumstances. | 25 |
(6) In subsection (5) “mentally disordered”, in relation to a person, means | |
suffering from a mental disorder within the meaning of the Mental Health Act | |
1983. | |
Sentencing and allocation guidelines | |
160 The Sentencing Guidelines Council | 30 |
(1) There shall be a Sentencing Guidelines Council (in this Chapter referred to as | |
the Council) consisting of— | |
(a) (a) the Lord Chief Justice, who is to be chairman of the Council, | |
(b) (b) seven members (in this section and section 161 referred to as | |
“judicial members”) appointed by the Lord Chancellor after | 35 |
consultation with the Secretary of State and the Lord Chief Justice, and | |
(c) (c) five members (in this section and section 161 referred to as “non- | |
judicial members”) appointed by the Secretary of State after | |
consultation with the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice. | |
(2) A person is eligible to be appointed as a judicial member if he is— | 40 |
(a) a Lord Justice of Appeal, | |
(b) a judge of the High Court, | |
(c) a Circuit judge, | |
(d) a District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts), or | |
(e) a lay justice. | 45 |
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(3) The judicial members must include a Circuit judge, a District Judge | |
(Magistrates’ Courts) and a lay justice. | |
(4) A person is eligible for appointment as a non-judicial member if he appears to | |
the Secretary of State to have experience in one or more of the following | |
areas— | 5 |
(a) policing, | |
(b) criminal prosecution, | |
(c) criminal defence, | |
(d) the promotion of the welfare of victims of crime, and | |
(e) sentencing policy and the administration of sentences. | 10 |
(5) The persons eligible for appointment as non-judicial members include civil | |
servants appearing to the Secretary of State to have the required experience. | |
(6) The non-judicial members must include at least one person appearing to the | |
Secretary of State to have experience in each area. | |
(7) The Lord Chief Justice must appoint one of the judicial members or non- | 15 |
judicial members to be deputy chairman of the Council. | |
(8) In relation to any meeting of the Council from which the Lord Chief Justice is | |
to be absent, he may nominate any person eligible for appointment as a judicial | |
member to act as a member on his behalf at the meeting. | |
(9) In this section and section 161 “lay justice” means a justice of the peace who is | 20 |
not a District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts). | |
161 Sentencing Guidelines Council: supplementary provisions | |
(1) In relation to the Council, the Lord Chancellor may by order make provision— | |
(a) as to the term of office, resignation and re-appointment of judicial | |
members and non-judicial members, | 25 |
(b) enabling the appropriate Minister to remove a judicial member or non- | |
judicial member from office on grounds of incapacity or misbehaviour, | |
and | |
(c) as to the proceedings of the Council. | |
(2) In subsection (1)(b) “the appropriate Minister” means— | 30 |
(a) in relation to a judicial member, the Lord Chancellor, and | |
(b) in relation to a non-judicial member, the Secretary of State. | |
(3) The validity of anything done by the Council is not affected by any vacancy | |
among its members, by any defect in the appointment of a member or by any | |
failure to comply with section 160(3), (6) or (7). | 35 |
(4) The Lord Chancellor may pay— | |
(a) to any judicial member who is appointed by virtue of being a lay justice, | |
such remuneration or expenses as he may determine, and | |
(b) to any other judicial member or the Lord Chief Justice, such expenses | |
as he may determine. | 40 |
(5) The Secretary of State may pay to any non-judicial member such remuneration | |
or expenses as he may determine. | |
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