Skip to main contentSkip to navigationSkip to navigation
A 'wrap' containing Cocaine. 
Picture by James Boardman. Image shot 01/2005. Exact date unknown.
The new drugs offences guidelines were launched in February 2012 and are beginning to have the desired effect. Photograph: James Boardman / Alamy/Alamy
The new drugs offences guidelines were launched in February 2012 and are beginning to have the desired effect. Photograph: James Boardman / Alamy/Alamy

Drug sentences now make more sense

This article is more than 11 years old
The Sentencing Council's new guideline for drug offences praised for its clarity

The underlying aim of The Sentencing Council's new guideline for drug offences in England and Wales is to ensure sentences are consistent and the punishment proportionate.

The guideline was launched in February 2012 and early results suggest it is beginning to have its desired effect. But achieving that consistency has involved a long process of research and careful testing of the results with judges, lawyers and the general public.

The process, which took 18 months to complete, included developing an analytical tool mapping the existing distribution of sentences, holding focus groups with the public and then undertaking a detailed consultation process once the draft guideline had been produced.

The guideline has been modified at several points along the way to take account of that feedback.

One modification related to the drug quantity categories included in the guideline. The draft guideline set out an ascending range of quantities of drug, each of which carried a higher sentence. "But the feedback was that this had created structures that were too rigid," says the council's senior policy adviser Jackie Burney, "meaning that, for instance, there could be a massive jump in sentence for someone caught with 50 grams of cocaine compared with 49.9 grams".

As a result the council has now produced indicative ranges that give judges greater freedom to use their discretion to determine the appropriate sentence.

There was also a change to the guideline's sentencing proposals for street dealing because respondents felt any dealing harmed the community, regardless of the quantities involved.

The guideline now states that all offences of street dealing will automatically earn a sentence in the top category of harm, regardless of the quantities involved. A similar approach has been taken to drug dealing in prison.

The final guideline runs to 33 pages, covering five areas – importation, supply, production, possession and permitting premises to be used – and three classes of drug within each.

It is accompanied by a detailed resource assessment outlining the overall effect on length of sentences as well as the cost implications.

The biggest change is likely to be for drug "mules" where average sentences could be nearly halved. But this may be partly offset by increased sentences for large-scale production of class B drugs, such as cannabis.

The council's research showed that sentencing for cannabis cultivation had changed quite significantly in the past year. The council's economics adviser, Robin Linacre, says: "It would seem there has been a movement to more commercial scale of growing with a new type of person getting involved."

As a result the council is now predicting that sentences – and therefore costs – will rise marginally in this area. But it still expects there will be a slight overall reduction in lengths of sentences as well as some cost savings.

So far the evaluation team has not collected enough information through its Crown Court Sentencing Survey to determine the guideline's effect, but anecdotal feedback from magistrates, judges and lawyers has been positive. "They say it is really clear and simple to use but gives them the flexibility to employ their discretion," says Burney.

The Sentencing Council is the winner in the evidence-based policy making category of the Guardian Public Services Awards 2012

To respond to this, or any other article on the Guardian public leaders network, email public.leaders@theguardian.com. You must be a member of the network to submit articles for publication.

For the latest public leadership updates, follow us on Twitter

Why not join our community? Becoming a member of the Guardian public leaders network means you get sent weekly email updates on policy and leadership. You can sign up - for free - online here.

Most viewed

Most viewed