RMA Responds to Domestic Abuse Sentencing Consultation
Responding to consultations and calls for views issued by justice partners is one of the ways the Risk Management Authority contributes to the development of policy and effective risk practice in Scotland. The Scottish Sentencing Council consulted the public and justice agencies on its draft guideline on sentencing domestic abuse, and we were pleased to have the opportunity to respond.
The draft sentencing guideline covers a number of factors to which the Council considers courts should have regard when deciding what sentence to impose in domestic abuse cases. It sits alongside other guidelines that the Council has developed and that the High Court of Justiciary has approved for us; these other guidelines – called general guidelines – apply across arrange of cases, and also need to be considered by courts when passing sentence where relevant.
Our legal system uses sentences for a number of reasons including punishment, discouraging the individual and the general public from offending, and protecting the public. The RMA’s purpose is to reduce serious harm from offending, and so our response focusses on that public protection function. We emphasised the importance of ensuring that court have access to right information about the risk of future harmful offending that an individual presents before passing sentence. This includes information about whether an individual may be safely managed in the community, or whether the court should delay sentencing in order to allow a more in-depth risk assessment to take place. Scotland has a nationally agreed approach to risk assessment and management in the justice system called the Framework for Risk Assessment, Management and Evaluation which sets the standard for risk practice across the country. We used our response to show how the FRAME approach can assist courts to pass a sentence most likely to promote rehabilitation and reduce reoffending in the individual case.
More information about the Council, its guidelines, and sentencing in the justice system can be found on the Scottish Sentencing Council’s website.