The Limits of Compliance Statistics: What We Can and Cannot Learn
The Sentencing Council has recently released a report detailing experimental statistics on sentences handed down by the Crown courts in Britain. [1] These statistics tell us the number of sentences that fall within the recommended sentence ranges set out by the sentencing guidelines. But do they tell us anything more? This article will highlight some of the difficulties with compliance statistics in the English context and make some initial suggestions for further research and analysis of the survey information. The Guidelines System in England and…
