UK punishment

The punishment you can expect if you are convicted of a crime will depend on what crime you committed. The law in the UK allocates punishment that is linked to the severity of the crime. Therefore theft for instance carries a lesser punishment than murder.

The courts are guided as to the sentences and other punishments they can hand down to offenders. The law is regularly reviewed with sentences for some crimes increased as public pressure has indicated that the current punishment isn’t severe enough. The punishment should always fit the crime under UK law.

The vast majority of punishments are handed down by the magistrates’ court as these courts deal with most of the criminal cases in the UK. Magistrates’ do, however, have limited powers and can refer an offender to the Crown Court if they think that the offender should receive a higher fine or longer sentence than they can impose. Some crimes also have automatic prison sentences.

Offenders who are found guilty will usually get either an absolute discharge or a conditional discharge. An absolute discharge means that no further action will be taken against the offender. The offender still has a criminal record, but the court will take no action against them. A conditional discharge means that the offender will not get a punishment right away, but if they reoffend the court will hand down a punishment for the original crime and the new one they have committed.