Attorney General's Office

Unduly Lenient Sentences

The Attorney General has power to ask the Court of Appeal to review some sentences which she thinks are unduly lenient. If the Court of Appeal agrees with the Attorney General it can increase the sentence.

About The Scheme

Parliament has placed two important limits upon the scheme:

a strict 28 day time limit, from the day the sentence was passed. It's very important that concerns about sentences which may be unduly lenient come to the Attorney General quickly

the sentence must be for one of these offences:

• more serious crimes which can be dealt with only in the Crown Court, such as murder, rape and robbery
• some sex crimes, especially those involving children, but also indecent assault and some other sex crimes
• child cruelty
• threats to kill
• some serious frauds
• some drugs crimes
• some racially or religiously aggravated crimes
• attempting or inciting any of the above.

Anyone can ask the Attorney General to look at a case

Often the Crown Prosecution Service sends the case in. But victims, their families, and members of the public can contact the Attorney General direct or people can contact a Member of Parliament.

The important thing is that the complaint must reach the Attorney General in time for her to consider it before the end of time limit (which is 28 days from the day the sentence was passed).

It's easy to ask the Attorney to look at a case - you don't need a lawyer. But we do need to be able to identify the case to look into it. Let us know (if you can):

• the name of the person who was sentenced
• the name of the court (or place) where the sentence was passed
• the crime(s) committed
• the date of sentence (if this is more than 28 days ago, the case cannot be referred)
• if you know about the case through a newspaper report, the date of the report and the name of the newspaper

All cases are looked into very seriously by the Attorney General or her deputy, the Solicitor General. They personally look into all the facts and consider the concerns of the victim and family. They apply the law and guidelines which apply to the sentencing decision. Normally they also have advice from:

• lawyers who appeared for the prosecution in the trial
• a highly experienced independent barrister, who hasn't been involved so far
• expert lawyers in her office.

"Unduly lenient" means more than just lenient

The courts have said that an unduly lenient sentence "falls outside the range of sentences which the judge, applying his mind to all the relevant factors, could reasonably consider appropriate".

In other words, the sentence must not just be lenient, but must be unduly lenient.

The Court of Appeal has wide discretion. It also takes account of the fact that the offender has been put through the sentencing process a second time. It does not intervene unless the sentence is significantly below the sentence that the judge should have passed. The Attorney has to bear this in mind when deciding whether or not to refer a case to the Court.

The Attorney is also able to refer cases where it seems that the judge made a legal mistake about his or her powers of sentencing.

You may find it helpful to talk to your local Crown Prosecution Service about the sentence in the case you are concerned about.

Victims and their families matter

We look carefully at any statement about the impact of the crime on you

The victim or family of the victim can attend the hearing at the Court of Appeal, if there is one. The Attorney's staff will get in touch with them about this and give them the help that they need

The Attorney is sometimes able to meet victims or their families to explain her decision personally and her staff will always explain the outcome.

Statistics

Around 80 cases were referred to the Court of Appeal in the last year. About three quarters led to an increased sentence. It is worth remembering that around 80,000 cases are dealt with in the Crown Court in any one year.

2008 Unduly Lenient Sentences Spreadsheet