Guidelines in development
Below can be found a list of our guidelines which are currently being developed. To view the progress of the guideline you can click on it, or to learn more about the stages of guideline development click here.
*After the completion of stage 7, all approved guidelines move onto stage 8, the monitoring and review stage.
The Council is currently developing sentencing guidelines on sexual offences in relation to rape, sexual assault, and indecent images of children.
The Domestic Abuse Working Group Committee will support the Council in its preparation of a sentencing guideline or guidelines on domestic abuse offences.
The Council is currently developing sentencing guidelines on sexual offences in relation to rape, sexual assault, and indecent images of children.
The Council is currently developing sentencing guidelines on sexual offences in relation to rape, sexual assault, and indecent images of children.
We believe a guideline on sentence discounting where a guilty plea has been tendered presents significant opportunities to improve public understanding of sentencing and to assist with predictability.
We believe that a guideline addressing environmental and wildlife offences would be of public benefit, these being matters of particular significance to Scottish communities and indeed the Scottish economy.
Death by driving offences are of significant public concern and, involving loss of life, are very serious in nature. The circumstances of these cases can be incredibly complex, often requiring sentencers to make difficult assessments about the level of an offender’s culpability (which can vary significantly) in relation to the serious harm caused. We believe that a guid...View More
As well as there being specific statutory arrangements in place, sentencing of younger people often requires a more individualistic approach, taking into account the particular personal characteristics of the young person concerned. For example, depending on the age and maturity of the young person, their culpability in relation to the offence might be lower than that o...View More
The sentencing process guideline sets out an eight-step process for the sentencing of offenders, explaining how courts arrive at sentencing decisions and what may be taken into account, such as the seriousness of the offence and any aggravating or mitigating factors. The Council believes this will help to improve current knowledge and understanding around sentencing.View More
The sentencing process guideline sets out an eight-step process for the sentencing of offenders, explaining how courts arrive at sentencing decisions and what may be taken into account, such as the seriousness of the offence and any aggravating or mitigating factors. The Council believes this will help to improve current knowledge and understanding around sentencing.View More
Notes
In its latest business plan the Council announced that its focus will turn to offence guidelines and confirmed its intention to prepare a sentencing guideline on domestic abuse offences.
Work will continue on the development of guidelines for death by driving, the sexual offences of rape, indecent images of children, and sexual assault, as well as on sentence discounting. It is also planned to resume work on an environmental and wildlife offences guideline.