The body that lays down the rules

THE Sentencing Council, set up eight years ago, lays down rules for the courts on how criminals should be dealt with.

It is the successor to committees first set up in 2003 to interpret Appeal Court test cases. Its guidelines must be followed by the courts unless judges can show it is in the interest of justice to do otherwise.

It typically sets down a benchmark sentence for an offence, with variations for less or more serious circumstances. For example, it advised in 2016 that an armed robber who threatens victims with a knife or a gun should get eight years in jail, but sentences could range between seven or 12 years.

The council’s president is the most senior judge, Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett, but its most influential member is its chairman, Appeal judge Lord Justice Treacy. In addition to judges, the council’s members include a chief constable, a senior probation officer and a Victim Support representative.

It also includes Director of Public Prosecution Alison Saunders, who has attracted increasing controversy in recent months over failed rape prosecutions.