Addiction as a mitigating factor

Alcohol and other forms of dependence may be regarded as mitigating factors in sentencing people convicted of some criminal offences, allowing burglars and thieves to escape the jail sentence they would otherwise be given.

This is one of the proposals contained in a new consultation exercise by the Sentencing Guidelines Council, which is chaired by Lord Phillips, the Lord Chief Justice.

The consultation document discusses the question of how the seriousness of offences should be assessed, and in considering aggravating and mitigating factors the document states:

‘Many offenders convicted of acquisitive crimes are motivated by an addiction, often to drugs, alcohol or gambling. This does not mitigate the seriousness of the offence, but an offender’s dependency may properly influence the type of sentence imposed. In particular, it may sometimes be appropriate to impose a drug rehabilitation requirement or an alcohol treatment requirement as part of a community order or a suspended sentence order in an attempt to break the cycle of addiction and offending, even if an immediate custodial sentence would otherwise be warranted.’

The document also states that `the fact that an offence has been committed in desperation or need arising from particular hardship’ may also count as personal mitigation in exceptional circumstances’.

Critics were quick to attack the proposal. The Conservatives said the guidelines were an indication that the courts were being pressed into issuing non-custodial sentences in order to keep offenders out of overcrowded jails. Nick Herbert, the Shadow Justice Secretary, said: "People will be uncomfortable with the idea that professional thieves who prey on the vulnerable may only receive community service. Punishments should fit the crime, not prison capacity."

Patrick Mercer, a Conservative member of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said: "Whatever the background of the criminal they should be made to serve the sentence. Rehabilitation can go on in prison. I don't see why these are mitigating factors."

Sentencing Guidelines Council: Theft and Burglary (Non-Dwelling) Consultation Guideline. March 2008. Responses to the consultation should be received no later than 28 May 2008.