The threshold criterion for imprisonment that ‘so serious that only custodial sentence justified’ was not best described in terms of view of ‘right thinking members of the public’ but rather the court should look to the need to protect the public and other aims. A community penalty might in some cases be appropriate on a plea by a first time offender even where other adults were involved and the offence was organised.
Judges:
Lord Bingham of Cornhill LCJ, Kennedy, Collins JJ
Citations:
Times 21-Aug-1998, [1999] 1 WLR 307, [1998] EWCA Crim 2515, [1999] 1 Cr App R (S) 335
Links:
Statutes:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Regina v Page; Regina v Maher; Regina v Stewart CACD 8-Dec-2004
Each defendant appealed convictions for shoplifting (theft).
Held: The court gave guidelines for sentencing of adult individual shoplifters. Shoplifting is a classic offence where custody should be a sentence of last resort. Older cases must . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Criminal Sentencing
Updated: 31 May 2022; Ref: scu.155389
