England: Sentencing guidelines for drug offences aim to address ethnic and gender disparities

The Sentencing Council has published research showing that the odds of a black offender receiving an immediate custodial sentence for a drug offence are 40 per cent higher than the odds for a white offender.

The odds of a male offender receiving an immediate custodial sentence are 140 per cent higher than the odds for a female offender.

The new guidelines, due to come into effect from 1 April 2021, take some measures to address this, including drawing sentencers’ attention to evidence of sentencing disparities in specific offences as an integral part the sentencing process.

However, the Council has also convened an internal working group to consider what further steps might be taken in this area and is in the process of commissioning a review of how its guidelines operate to help identify any areas for further work.

Judge Rebecca Crane, a member of the Sentencing Council, said: “These new sentencing guidelines provide a clear sentencing framework for the courts. They cover all the main offences and provide an approach to sentencing offending involving any type of drug. They will ensure that victims, witnesses and the public will have clear information on how drug offences are sentenced.

“The Council has also taken this opportunity to include measures to address disparities that exist in the sentence outcomes of some drug offences associated with ethnicity. This is an important area of work for the Council and we continue to explore whether any further changes could be beneficial to guidelines to help address any disparities in sentencing outcomes.”