Entering the Labyrinth: Sentencing the Dangerous Young Offender
| Author | Nigel Stone |
| DOI | 10.1177/1473225406063452 |
| Published date | 01 April 2006 |
| Date | 01 April 2006 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
LEGAL COMMENTARY
Copyright 2006 The National Association for Youth Justice
Published by SAGE Publications (London, Thousand Oaks and New Delhi)
www.sagepublications.com
ISSN 1473-2254, Vol 6(1): 61–69
DOI: 10.1177/1473225406063452
Legal Commentary
Entering the Labyrinth: Sentencing the Dangerous
Young Offender
Nigel Stone
Correspondence: Nigel Stone, School of Social Work and Psychosocial Studies, Elizabeth
Fry Building, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK. Email: n.stoneVuea.ac.uk
Recent ‘Legal Commentaries’(Stone, 2005 and 2006) have drawn attention to the
potential application of the ‘dangerous offenders’provisions of the Criminal Justice Act
(CJA) 2003. It is now possible to give a fuller account of these measures as they apply
to young offenders, in light of early judgments of the Court of Appeal, particularly in
R v Lang and Others [2005] EWCA 2864, providing the first authoritative guidance to
the interpretation of ss.224–229 of the Act.
Disposals for Dangerous Offenders
Part 12 Chapter 5 of the Act gives the Crown Court powers to impose three kinds of
‘protective sentence’in respect of those aged under 18 on conviction of a qualifying
offence committed on or after 4 April 2005: detention for life; detention for public
protection (DPP); extended sentence of detention.
To qualify for these measures the offence must be ‘specified’, that is be one of the
153 categories of either violent or sexual offence listed in Parts One (65 violent
offences) and Two (88 sexual offences) of Schedule 15 of the Act. Part One offences
include what may be regarded as at the lower end of the violence spectrum, such as
assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH), assault with intent to resist arrest and
affray. Part Two also has a wide ambit, including any offence under the Sexual Offences
Act (SOA) 2003 ss.1–19 and also exposure, voyeurism and committing an offence with
intent to commit a sexual offence, contrary to other sections of that Act. A specified
offence is also designated a ‘serious’offence if it is punishable, in the case of a person
aged 18 or older, with ten years imprisonment or longer.
The potential application of the three sentences can be briefly summarized thus:
(Detention for Life (CJA 2003 s.226(2)): in respect of a ‘serious’offence that carries a
maximum term of life under Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act PCC(S)A
2000 s.91 (for example, robbery, rape, arson with intention to endanger life), where
Get this document and AI-powered insights with a free trial of vLex and Vincent AI
Get Started for FreeStart Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
