NCJ Number
197132
Date Published
2002
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This chapter examines the Home Office Sentencing Review’s Halliday Report (2001) proposals on the role of an offender’s prior criminal record as a central element for basic changes in sentencing policy for England and Wales.
Abstract
In this chapter, an examination is conducted on the 2001 Home Office Sentencing Framework Review or Halliday Report recommending a new framework for criminal sentencing for England and Wales, specifically a proposal presented in the Report placing an increased emphasis on an offender’s previous criminal record. The chapter examines the desirability of giving amplified weight to the criminal record and concentrating on the question: how could a substantially larger recidivist premium be rationalized? Three principle claims made by the Halliday Report are reviewed: (1) whether offenders with a prior criminal record can be said to deserve significantly more punishment; (2) whether the principle of proportionality of sentence may properly be redefined to embrace the criminal record as well as the seriousness of the current offense; and (3) whether the Report’s assertion that record-enhanced sentencing will provide a better opportunity for the reform of offenders. This examination suggests that the Report’s proposed shift toward greater emphasis on the criminal record cannot be supported in the terms the Report suggests, either reflecting what offenders deserve or as a way of providing better opportunities for the reform of offenders. The Halliday Report’s assertion that recidivists somehow deserve much more punishment rests on shaky propositions. References