The Sentencing Guidelines Council produce sentencing guidelines that help magistrates and district judges decide the appropriate sentence for a criminal offence. The Equal Treatment Bench Book notes that ‘sentencing options may be affected by the mental condition of the defendant’.  If an offender’s underlying needs are addressed appropriately, this can help to prevent them from returning to the criminal justice system in the future.

There are various sentencing options that can be considered for offenders and you will be aware of these.