This book focuses on substantive criminal law, that is, how offences such as theft and murder are defined. This introductory chapter sets in context criminal offences and defences, first by considering the basis upon which certain conduct is criminalised and other conduct is not. In continuing to set the context, the chapter goes on to consider criminal justice and criminology; criminal evidence; criminal process (including the court structure and central actors); sentencing; civil law protections; and so on. Narrowing to our focus on substantive criminal law—how offences and defences are defined—the chapter moves on to discuss the sources of criminal law; the internal structure of offences and defences; principles of the substantive criminal law; and the subjects to which it applies. Finally, the chapter introduces features on reform and legal application.
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Course-focused and comprehensive, the Textbook on series provides an accessible overview of the key areas on the law curriculum. This chapter focuses on the measurement of crime. The first part discusses the statistics collected by the police, considering the reasons for the reporting and non-reporting of offences; police recording of crimes; and other official effects on crime statistics. The second part considers the ‘dark figure of crime’, i.e. criminal activity in England and Wales that is not covered by criminal statistics. Many criminologists have tried to assess the size of the dark figure. The three methods used are estimates (or guesses), self-report studies, and victim surveys.
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David Ormerod and John Child
This book focuses on substantive criminal law, that is, how offences such as theft and murder are defined. This introductory chapter sets in context criminal offences and defences, first by considering the basis upon which certain conduct is criminalised and other conduct is not. In continuing to set the context, the chapter goes on to consider criminal justice and criminology, criminal evidence, criminal process (including the court structure and central actors), sentencing, civil law protections, and so on. Narrowing to our focus on substantive criminal law—how offences and defences are defined—the chapter moves on to discuss the sources of criminal law, the internal structure of offences and defences, principles of the substantive criminal law, and the subjects to which it applies. Finally, the chapter introduces features on reform and legal application.
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Martin Hannibal and Lisa Mountford
This chapter explains the procedure on passing sentence and the general principles that govern a court’s decision when passing sentence. It discusses the role of the Crow Prosecution Service (CPS) on sentence; the procedure on sentencing; hierarchy of sentences; sentencing aims; the basis of sentencing under the Criminal Justice Act 2003; Sentencing Council for England and Wales; sentencing guidelines in the Crown Court; how the defence solicitor assesses the seriousness of an offence; Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Guidelines (MCSGs); the importance of the pre—sentence report, personal offender mitigation; discount for timely guilty pleas; the Crown Court’s sentencing powers; victim impact statements; and taking other offences into consideration.
