Record-enhanced sentencing in England and Wales: Reflections on the Halliday Report’s proposed treatment of prior convictions

Evaluates a 2001 proposal by the Home Office (the Halliday Report) to reform sentencing policy in England & Wales so as to place greater emphasis on an offender's previous criminal record than had been allowed under the Criminal Justice Act 1991. Rationalizations behind this proposal are reviewed, highlighting the arguments that such a reform would (1) better reflect what repeat offenders deserve & (2) provide wider scope for efforts to reform criminals. Previous reforms in criminal sentencing are revisited, & the penological paradigm underlying the Halliday Report is analyzed. It is argued that the proposed reform invalidates the "principle of proportionality," ie, making sentences proportional to the current crime. In addition, it fails to address the "parsimonious" use of the sentence premium for recidivists, & neglects to detail how increased time in prison will translate into enhanced treatment opportunities. Whether increased attention to prior offending will result in better crime prevention -- through either deterrence of future criminal acts or the incapacitation of career criminals -- is debated. 27 References. K. Hyatt Stewart