The Sentencing Council has launched an interactive website which allows members of the public to step into the role of judge or magistrate and make decisions based on real-life cases.
The website gives users six different scenarios covering various criminal offences including fraud, possession with intent to supply a class A drug, robbery, assault, possession of a bladed article, and possession of a firearm.
Each video will state the facts of the case as they relate to the offence and the offender and weigh up the aggravating and mitigating factors. At the end of the short film, users are asked a multiple-choice question about what sentence they would give and are then able to see how their choice compares with the one handed down by the judge or magistrates.
The Sentencing Council for England and Wales said it hopes ‘You be the Judge’ will help improve public understanding of how sentencing works.
The launch follows public criticism earlier this year of what was described as an ‘unduly lenient’ sentence in a gross negligence manslaughter case resulting in a two-year suspended sentence.
The website was launched at King’s Academy Prospect in Reading this week. Her Honour Judge Khatun Sapnara delivered a lesson to pupils with the lady chief justice and Lord Justice William Davis, chair of the Sentencing Council.
Davis said: ‘You be the Judge gives the public a unique opportunity to see for themselves how complex the sentencing process is and how sentencing guidelines help judges and magistrates take a consistent approach.’
Lady Carr said: ‘The Judiciary of England and Wales supports the Sentencing Council’s new initiative to increase the public’s understanding of how sentencing works. Judges and magistrates make decisions based on the individual circumstances of the cases before them, and You be the Judge is a great way to encourage greater understanding of these decisions.’
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