Points of departure: Reflections on sentencing outside the definitive guidelines ranges

This article examines an under-explored area of sentencing law in England and Wales: sentencing outside the definitive guidelines. The issue has come to the fore as a result of judgments arising from the serious public disorder of last summer. Sentencing outside the definitive sentencing guidelines is of course not restricted to riot-related offending; other circumstances will inevitably arise which impel courts to depart from the guidelines ranges. Accordingly, it is worth exploring the ways in which courts might sentence offenders for criminal acts unforeseen by the guidelines authority. © [2012] Thomson Reuters (UK) Professional Limited