I have noticed that your very popular ‘Scales of Justice’ column, which does much to inform the public and maybe even deter some potential criminals, has generated a certain amount of negative comment in your Readers’ Letters section.

I would like to attempt to redress the balance and explain how magistrates decide on sentence for those who plead guilty or who are found guilty after a trial.

The main purposes of sentencing are punishment, reduction in crime (including its reduction by deterrence), reform and rehabilitation of offenders, protection of the public and reparation. Any sentence will include one or more of these elements.

Magistrates follow sentencing guidelines and a structured approach – both the seriousness of the particular offence and the defendant’s circumstances are considered. Sentencing is not based on the general nature of offence alone but includes any specific aggravating or mitigating circumstances, previous convictions, the defendant’s mitigation and financial circumstances, including their earnings and whether or not they pleaded guilty.

This approach is common to sentencing all offences dealt with in the magistrates’ court whether the eventual sentence is a conditional discharge, fine, community order or a term of imprisonment.

One letter was headed ‘Punishments Seem to Vary Considerably’.

On the face of it this may sometimes seem to be the case but would anyone expect a defendant with a high income to be fined the same as a defendant on the minimum wage for doing, say, 43mph in a 30 zone?

The aim should surely be that any fine for a given offence should be equally tough on both. So yes, it is very likely that for the same level of excess speed, one motorist might be fined £75 and the next one on the list £250 because, the factors listed above will have been taken into account in assessing the appropriate level of the fine in their particular case.

The guidelines for speeding offences are in the current sentencing guidelines.

The seriousness of the offence is reflected in the Bands A-C. The starting point for a Band A fine is half a week’s net (take-home) pay, Band B is a week’s net pay and Band C is a week-and-a half’s net pay. Where a defendant is deemed to be in receipt of a low income or state benefit a weekly sum of £110 will be used as a starting point to calculate the level of the fine.

The Victim Surcharge also came under fire. The amount is set by law. Lower amounts apply in the Youth Court. The income from the surcharge is ring-fenced and used to fund a range of emotional and practical services for victims of crime.

Tim Pocock JP Oxfordshire Justices’ Bench Chairman

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