The Sentencing Council has today launched a consultation on proposals to introduce new guidelines for judges and magistrates sentencing drug offenders.

The plans will mean that for the first time in the Crown court, sentences will be based on the court’s assessment of the defendant’s role in the offence, and the quantity of drugs involved or the scale of the operation.

Under the guidance, drug barons playing a leading role in large-scale offences will continue to face long prison sentences.

However, it seeks to distinguish these leading players from those in subordinate roles such as drug mules, who may be coerced or misled into carrying drugs.

To tackle the rise in offences relating to the production of drugs, the guidelines also seek to ensure that tougher sentences are available for those running large-scale operations.

The draft guidance covers the most commonly sentenced drugs offences, including importation, production, supply, permitting premises to be used for drugs offences, and possession.

It will cover offences in both the Crown and magistrates courts, and is intended to encourage greater consistency in approach to sentencing drugs offenders.

There is currently no statutory guideline covering drug offences in the Crown court, although sentencing judges and magistrates have been assisted by judgments of the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division), and there are guidelines in relation to some offences being sentenced in the magistrates’ court.

The approach proposed by the Council is intended to ensure that sentencing remains broadly consistent with current practice.

Lord Justice Leveson, chairman of the Sentencing Council, said: ‘We want to ensure that those who are responsible for the most serious drug crime receive the longest sentences, and that punishments overall are in proportion to the offender’s role and the amount of drugs involved.’

The consultation ends on 20 June 2011 and can be found at the Sentencing Council site.