Friday 17 Aug 2007 @ 10:51
Sentencing Council
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SENTENCING ADVISORY PANEL LAUNCHES CONSULTATIONS ON FRAUD OFFENCES AND BREACH OF AN ASBO

Greater consistency is required in sentencing for fraud offences. That is the clear message set out in a consultation paper issued yesterday by the Sentencing Advisory Panel.
Comprehensive guidelines are needed as few fraud offences are covered by existing guideline judgments and new offences were introduced by the Fraud Act 2006, which came into force on 15 January 2007.
Boundaries between the offences - both old and new - sometimes overlap and conduct may fall within more than one offence provision. In these circumstances, the Panel has based its proposals on the type of fraudulent behaviour rather than the particular offence that might have been charged.
To promote consistency in sentencing for similar types of fraudulent behaviour, the Panel is consulting on one comprehensive guideline for sentencing various frauds against institutions. These include tax fraud, benefit fraud, insurance fraud, bank account fraud and payment card fraud. Separate guidelines are proposed for ‘confidence tricks’ and also for possessing, making or supplying articles for use in fraud.
The consultation paper also discusses whether ancillary orders (including compensation orders and disqualification from acting as a company director) should be taken into account by the sentencing court when assessing whether the overall sentence is commensurate with the seriousness of the offence.
The ancillary orders discussed in the consultation paper have a wide application and the Panel intends to develop a general principle applicable to all offences, concerning the degree to which such orders should influence the sentence imposed.

The Sentencing Advisory Panel has also today issued a consultation paper on sentencing for breach of an Anti-social Behaviour Order (ASBO). The number of ASBOs has increased considerably since the order first became available in 1999, and the courts now regularly face the task of sentencing an offender for breach.
Guidelines are needed to ensure that the approach to sentencing is proportionate and consistent. The range of prohibitions that can be attached to an order is very wide, and therefore many types of behaviour may constitute a breach.
The Panel is consulting on the relationship between the varying levels of harm created by the breach of an order and the offender’s culpability in failing to comply with an order of the court, often on more than one occasion.
The consultation paper summarises existing guidance about the making of an order before considering the approach to sentencing for breach. One key issue is the degree to which the original conduct that led to the making of the order is relevant when sentencing for breach.
Aggravating and mitigating factors particularly relevant to breach, such as the length of time before the breach was committed, are identified, and sentencing starting points and ranges are proposed for adult offenders.
As a large proportion of orders are imposed on persons under 18 years of age, the paper also proposes the principles that should be applied when sentencing a youth for breach.
A number of questions are raised in both papers on which views are sought. In view of the complexity of the issues covered in the fraud paper, the period of consultation has been extended from the normal 12 weeks to 16 weeks and will close on 6 December 2007. The consultation on breach of an ASBO will close on 9 November 2007. Following the consultations, the Panel will submit its advice to the Sentencing Guidelines Council.

Consultation paper on sentencing for fraud offences

Consultation paper on sentencing for breach of an Anti-social Behaviour Order (ASBO)

Notes to Editors
1. The Sentencing Advisory Panel is an independent advisory and consultative body. It started work on 1 July 1999 and now is constituted under section 169 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003.
2. Prior to implementation of the relevant provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the Panel’s function was to provide fully researched, objective advice to the Court of Appeal to assist the Court when it framed or revised sentencing guidelines. That Act established the Sentencing Guidelines Council to take over responsibility for issuing sentencing guidelines and so, with effect from 27 February 2004, the Panel has submitted its advice to the Council rather than to the Court of Appeal. The Panel can offer advice on general sentencing principles as well as specific offences.
3. The Panel is sponsored by the Ministry of Justice.
4. The Sentencing Guidelines Council has asked the Sentencing Advisory Panel to produce advice on sentencing for breach of ABSO and sentencing for all offences of theft and dishonesty. The fraud consultation paper is the third in a series of consultations on theft and dishonesty offences; the Panel consulted on sentencing for theft from a shop and other theft and dishonesty offences in the latter half of 2006.
5. During 2007, the Panel has consulted on sentencing for offences of causing death by driving, revised Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Guidelines, and the impact that offences taken into consideration should have on the offence(s) for which an offender has been convicted. The Panel has tendered advice to the Sentencing Guidelines Council on sentencing for Bail Act offences and assaults and other offences against the person. The Sentencing Guidelines Council has published draft guidelines on Bail Act offences and assaults and other offences against the person. In April the Council published definitive guidelines on sentencing for all of the offences in the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and in July it published a definitive revised guideline on reduction in sentence for a guilty plea.
6. Copies of this consultation paper may be obtained from: Gareth Sweny, Sentencing Guidelines Secretariat, 4thFloor, 8-10 Great George Street, London SW1P 3AE. The document (along with all published advice and consultation papers) is available also on the sentencing guidelines website
7. For more information, please contact Lesley Dix, Secretary to the Panel, on 020 7084 8130.

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