A study of the factors underlying the sentencing practice of the juvenile courts of Stoke-on-Trent and Leek

This thesis examines the work of two Staffordshire juvenile courts, Stoke-on-Trent and Leek, from the point of view of the factors which are most influential in determining the sentencing decisions of the magistrates. These factors are: the offence, the previous criminal record, offences to be taken into consideration, age, sex and the welfare needs of the juvenile offender. The juvenile court was established in England in 1908. Since then, to have regard for the welfare needs of juvenile offenders had become an important, though not an over-riding, consideration in juvenile court sentencing. The Children and Young Persons Act, 1969, has now made the welfare principle an over-riding consideration in the case of "children". Chapters 2, 3 and 5 deal with the changes which took place until the coming into force of the 1969 Act and the aim of the various sentences. The most recent system is described, though not anaJysed, in Chapter 4. The effect of the welfare principle has been that the juvenile court magistrates are directed to attach no undue importance to the nature of the offence, and devote at least as much of their attention to the welfare needs of the juvenile offender so that they may order a suitable sentence. However, the choice of sentence to suit the welfare needs of the juvenile offenders is bound to conflict in some degree with the business of retributive justice. Chapter 6 describes the problem created by the welfare principle, and states the hypothesis and the aim of the study. The research method is described in Chapter 7. Sentencing takes place within the social setting in which decisions are made. Accordingly, Chapter 8 describes the socio-economic background and the juvenile delinquency in Stoke-on-Trent and Leek. The following Chapter describes the sentencing policies of both courts in 1968. Sentencing is also determined by magistrates' various individual characteristics e.g. age, sex, educational background, experience on the bench, social class and social attitudes. All these characteristics of Stoke-on Trent and Leek magistrates are described in Chapter 10. In the following chapter the effect of social attitudes of magistrates on sentencing is analysed. Chapter 12 contains an investigation of the welfare factor in juvenile court sentencing and of the relation between a measure of magistrates' sentencing attitudes and their actual sentences. Chapter 13 analyses the effect of various factors in sentencing. These factors are as follows: the offence, the previous criminal record, offences to be taken into consideration, the welfare principle, age and sex. The final chapter contains a summary of the main conclusions