In July 2024, the Sentencing Council, with support from the Judiciary of England and Wales, launched an exciting new interactive platform designed to raise awareness and increase understanding among young people of how sentencing and sentencing guidelines work, and the vital role that judges and magistrates play in sentencing. ‘You Be The Judge’ was launched by Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill, the Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales; Lord Justice William Davis, the Chairman of the Sentencing Council of England and Wales; and Her Honour Judge Khatun Sapnara, Diversity and Community Relations Judge.
This new initiative gives users the opportunity to watch six shortened, dramatised cases related to burglary, fraud, assault, and possession of drugs, a knife, and a firearm. Users of the website will listen to the facts of each case and weigh up the aggravating and mitigating factors before deciding what they think is an appropriate sentence. They will then be able to see how their sentence compares with those handed down by the judge or magistrate.
You Be the Judge gives the public a unique opportunity to see for themselves how complex the sentencing process is and how sentencing guidelines help judges and magistrates take a consistent approach. Watching the scenarios, people will be able to see how judges and magistrates balance the seriousness of the offence, the impact on the victim, the circumstances of the offender and the need to protect the public in deciding on a proportionate and appropriate sentence.
Judges and magistrates make decisions based on the individual circumstances of the cases before them, and You be the Judge is a great way to encourage greater understanding of these decisions. All six You be the Judge videos are available to watch on the Sentencing Council website at https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/research-and-resources/you-be-the-judge/.
View the platform here.
