Academic seminar 2018
Collaborating to Shape the Future of Sentencing Research: Innovation and Impact
On 8 November 2018, the Council held a one-day event designed to provide a forum for discussions on academic work in the area of sentencing and how to demonstrate impact in analytical work, as well as an opportunity to identify areas for collaboration.
Stakeholders attended from a range of areas and disciplines, including academics, members of the judiciary, solicitors and barristers, officials from the Ministry of Justice, the Law Commission, the Youth Justice Board and the Justice Committee, as well as representatives from external organisations, including the Scottish Sentencing Council, Prison Reform Trust and the Nuffield Foundation.
A range of topics was presented on the day, including:
- The work of the Sentencing Council and of the Analysis and Research Team
- The evaluation of the Council’s sexual offences guideline
- A comparison of the impacts of short-term custody versus community sentences
- The role of gender and intoxication in sentencing assault offences
- The role of perceived choice in sentencing addicted offenders
- Sentencing for multiple versus single offences
- Algorithmic risk tools in sentencing processes
- An update on the Sentencing Academy
- Selling impact and getting impact: a great strategy to secure funding