Report on Mandatory Sentences - Law Reform Commission

offender is being sentenced for any serious sexual or violent offence, provided that the court considers
that he or she presents a risk of causing serious harm through future reoffending.
2.199 Mandatory sentencing regimes have also been established in England and Wales to deal with
repeat offenders convicted of drugs offences or domestic burglary. As discussed in detail at paragraph
5.27ff, section 110 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 obliges the courts to impose a
minimum sentence of 7 years where the offender has been convicted of a third Class A drug trafficking
offence.
2.200 The modern history of mandatory sentences for domestic burglary probably starts with the
Government’s 1996 White Paper. 471 One of the proposals in the White Paper concerned the imposition of
a mandatory minimum sentence of three years on offenders convicted of a third domestic burglary. 472 In
the White Paper, the Government observed that burglary, which was a “pernicious and predatory” crime
which could have particularly disastrous effects for elderly people, was one of the most commonly
occurring offences. 473 It noted, however, that in a substantial portion of cases, the courts did not impose
a custodial sentence:
“Severe penalties are available for burglary. The maximum sentence is 14 years for burglary of a
dwelling, and 10 years in other cases. In cases of aggravated burglary - where the offender has
a weapon - the maximum penalty is life imprisonment. But in a substantial proportion of cases,
the courts do not impose a custodial sentence on convicted burglars even if they have numerous
previous convictions... . The average sentence length imposed on a sample of offenders
convicted for the first time of domestic burglary in 1993 and 1994 and given a custodial sentence
was only 16.2 months in the Crown Court and 3.7 months in magistrates’ courts. Even after 3 or
more convictions, the average sentence imposed on conviction in the Crown Court was only 18.9
months; and after 7 or more convictions, 19.4 months. And 28% of offenders convicted in the
Crown Court with 7 or more convictions for domestic burglary were not sent to prison at all. At
magistrates’ courts, 61% of offenders with 7 or more domestic burglary convictions were given a
non-custodial sentence in 1993 and 1994.” 474
2.201 As noted at paragraphs 2.123 and 2.124, the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 was enacted to
implement the proposals contained in the 1996 White Paper. 475 Section 4 of the Crime (Sentences) Act
1997 required the imposition of a three-year sentence, except in specific circumstances, on offenders
who had been convicted of a third domestic burglary. Section 4 was replaced by section 111 of the
Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 which, as it was a consolidation act, 476 made no
changes to the substantive law.
(3) Ireland
2.202 There are a number of examples of legislative provisions in Irish law which establish a mandatory
sentencing regime for repeat offenders. These include provisions in the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977, the
Firearms Acts and the Criminal Justice Act 2007.
2.203 The Prevention of Crime Act 1908 in England and Wales, which provided that a habitual offender
should serve no less than five and no more than 10 years in prison, also applied to Ireland. In The
471
472
473
474
475
476
Protecting the Public - The Government’s Strategy on Crime in England and Wales Cm 3190 (Home Office,
1996).
Ibid at 51.
Ibid.
Ibid at 51-52.
Protecting the Public - The Government’s Strategy on Crime in England and Wales Cm 3190 (Home Office,
1996).
The Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 was enacted pursuant to the recommendations of the
Law Commission and the Scottish Law Commission contained in the 2000 <strong>Report</strong> on the Consolidation of
Legislation relating to Sentencing Cm 4626 SE/2000/15.
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