Engagement work

The Council works to increase its awareness and understanding of all aspects of sentencing and engages with a wide range of organisations. It continued this ongoing programme at its recent meeting on 6 March 2017 when members heard a presentation on ‘children and the sentencing of parents’.

The event included presentations from Families Outside, the Prison Reform Trust and the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland.

The Council has undertaken to publish a brief report on its website about the event with further details of the issues raised.

Discussion topics included:

•         what rights children may have in respect of a parent sentenced by the court
•         whether and how a parent’s caring responsibilities should be considered in sentencing
•         current practice in other jurisdictions.

The Council also welcomed members of the Sentencing Group for Northern Ireland who attended the meeting and joined the discussion event. The Hon Judge David McFarland and the Group’s Secretary, Paul Conway, spoke to the Council about their work. Differences in the sentencing process between the two jurisdictions were discussed, along with guideline styles in Northern Ireland and elsewhere, including the use of sentencing ranges and starting points.

The full minutes of the meeting, including information on the Council’s current work, is now available on our website.