Riot burglars face tougher sentencing
13 October 2011
by Luke Thomas
Lengthier jail terms are on the cards for anyone who burgles a home or business during a riot, as the result of a consultation on prison sentences by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales.
New national guidelines to assist judges with sentencing are set to come into force in January 2012. These will establish that burglary which takes place against a backdrop of public disorder can cause greater harm to the victim, and that this needs to be taken into account when meting out a punishment to fit the crime.
Incidences where, for example, people have been frightened to be within their own home after being burgled were cited as an example, where the effect is likely to be considerably more pronounced if the crime should take place against a backdrop of violent public disorder.
This may be taken into account by a judge if it can be demonstrated that the perpetrator was influenced by such a situation when they elected to break in to a property.
The consultation by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales, who are responsible for encouraging greater consistency and transparency in prison sentencing, was completed before the August riots took place across England, but they were taken into account when composing the guidelines.
The council said that, as a whole, prison terms resulting from burglary had been found to be appropriate, but some changes had been made.
The guidelines establish an upper limit of a five year prison sentence for burglars who break in to businesses and other non-domestic properties, with six years being the longest sentence for robbing a house. Burglars with weapons will always be jailed, and could face up to thirteen years’ incarceration.
While the council’s guidelines cover a wide variety of circumstances, judges are still free to use their own discretion in the name of justice.
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