Sentencing offenders

Magistrates (in a magistrates’ court) or a judge (in the Crown Court) decide on an offender’s sentence. The magistrate or judge must consider the need to:

• Punish a criminal
• Protect the public
• Change the offender’s behaviour
• Get them to make amends for their crime
• Cut crime in the future

What are the different types of court sentence?

When a court finds someone guilty of a crime, the most common sentences are:

• A court fine.
• A community sentence – for example, a curfew, unpaid work or going on a drug treatment programme.
• A prison sentence.
• A suspended prison sentence. Where the offender serves their sentence in the community – though if they commit another crime, they will usually be sent to prison.