Making sense of sentencing: Doing justice to both victim and prisoner

This report by the Independent Commission into the Experience of Victims and Long-Term Prisoners draws on evidence received from both victims and prisoners, and a range of criminal justice experts. The Commission concludes in this final report, that sentencing for serious offences has lost its way and is not working for victims, prisoners, or society as a whole.

The Commission’s main recommendation is for a national debate on sentencing backed by a Law Commission review of the sentencing framework for serious offences, a citizen’s assembly on sentencing policy, and strengthening the remit of the Sentencing Council in promoting public understanding of sentencing.