The main aim of this chapter is to draw together most of the significant procedural steps in sentencing, but the second part of the chapter focuses on a major development in sentencing that will be further highlighted in Chapter 13 below – the expanding availability and use of preventive and other ancillary orders at the sentencing stage. As a prelude to that discussion the first part of the chapter summarizes the framework of sentencing. Afterwards, the third part sets out various requirements to give reasons. Following that, brief consideration is given to several issues arising in procedural context. Thus, before a court passes sentence in any case other than a minor summary one, there will usually be either a trial or, if the plea was guilty, a prosecution statement of facts. In some cases these provide the court with an insufficient basis on which to pass sentence: what is to be done? Again, what role do the advocates for prosecution and defence play in relation to sentencing, and what role should they play? When should pre-sentence reports be relied upon by sentencers? What place do victims have in the sentencing process, and what role should they have?

The sentencing framework of the 2003 Act

The framework of sentencing established by the Criminal Justice Act 2003 has been much discussed in Chapters 9 and 10 above, and the present summary eschews detailed statutory references in order to convey the essence of the decision-making scheme.