The new sentencing guidelines have been approved by the High court of Judiciary in Scotland. This means that when sentencing an offender a judge must look at the guidelines and have regard to these and if they do not they must state their reasons for doing so. The guidelines lay out that their purpose is  “fairness and proportionality”.
There is also a number of factors that judges require to take in to account. The guidelines also set out the purposes they set to achieve such as rehabilitation or public protection. Lady Dorrian, chair of the Scottish Sentencing Council, said: “This guideline will also form a strong foundation for our future work in developing further sentencing guidelines, including those which will apply to particular offences.” This is just the first of many guides set to be published within the next few years. On the list are guidelines relating to the sentencing of young people, causing death by driving, and also guidelines on sexual offences.