Source · Select Committees · Justice Committee
Recommendation 17
17
Accepted
Public polling suggests support for increased severity of custodial sentences for specific offences.
Conclusion
Our polling on the public’s view on the appropriate starting points for specific offences suggests that a majority would support increases in the severity of the relevant custodial sentences. This position is also supported by much of the research into public opinion cited in the evidence submitted to this inquiry. This potential gap between public opinion on sentencing and actual practice indicated by the evidence we received highlights the need for in-depth analysis of the public’s view of sentencing policy for particular offences. (Paragraph 87) Public opinion and understanding of sentencing 59
Government Response Summary
The government details its existing quarterly Criminal Justice System Statistics publications and user feedback processes, stating it will continue to consider options for broader data presentations. It focuses on current data dissemination rather than committing to an in-depth analysis of public views on sentencing policy.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
17. The quarterly publication of Criminal Justice System Statistics has developed significantly in recent years to continue to address as many users’ needs as possible, in a far more flexible way than would be possible with a lengthy digest—for example, providing more detailed data tools that enable users to self-serve and cut data in a whole variety of ways, and through development of the raw data themselves. We continue to invite user feedback on all our publications and produce our statistics with focus on the code of practice for statistics, with a key focus on user needs. We also publish a comprehensive user guide that takes people through our data, providing commentary alongside our data tables each quarter. We will continue to consider options for broader visual/html- based presentations of our data and are ambitious for continual improvement without overwhelming users.