Investigation of Sentencing Data Availability in Magistrates' Courts

About

Ministry Of Justice awarded a contract to NatCen Social Research for investigating sentencing data available in and from Magistrates' Courts.

The project, commissioned by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales, aimed to gather information on what data and information on sentencing might be available from magistrates’ courts, what is currently captured, the accessibility and quality of that information, what potentially could be captured and how, the burden any collection or gathering of data would place on magistrates and court staff, the potential cost to the Sentencing Council of collecting this data, and the pros and cons of each option in fulfilling the Sentencing Council’s need for data on magistrates’ sentencing.

The research was intended to help decide the most appropriate way of approaching work in the magistrates’ courts to support the Council’s guideline development and monitoring and evaluation role.

The contract value was AUD 29,300.