Who Sets the Scene for Seriousness?
| Published date | 01 March 1993 |
| Date | 01 March 1993 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/026455059304000102 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
9
Who Sets the
Scene
for
Seriousness?
The
runs
on
information.
All
the
key
decisions
which
fall
to
be
made
require
adequate
and
relevant
information
before
the
court.
David
Cochrane
with
David
Pratt
of
Nottinghamshire
Probation
Service
and
Karen
Winter,
defence
solicitor
in
Nottingham,
considers
the
part
that
the
Probation
Service
should
play
in
supplying
information
pertinent
to
the
assessment
of
the
key
factors
of
’seriousness’
and
’risk’.
hat
’seriousness’
was
not
defined
in
the
Act
and
remains
a
rich
source
of
confusion
has
been
regularly
com-
mented
upon.
Lord
justice
Law90n’s
indication
in
R v
Bradbourn
(1985)
that
an
offence
is
,so
serious
that
a
non-custodial
sentence
cannot
be
justified
if
right
thinking
members
of
the
public
with
full
knowledge
of
the
offence
would
only
feel
that
justice
had
been
done
if
a
custodial
sentence
was
passed’
has
now
been
endorsed
by
the
Court
of
Appeal
in
interpreting
the
1991
Act,
yet
remains
a
subjective
value
judgement
of
little
practical
help.
Even
with
the
aid
of
sentencing
guidelines,
risk
of
custody
or
seriousness
scales
and
sitnilar
devices,
the
act
of
judgement
remains
highly
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