What types of sentences are available to the courts?
There are four types of sentence available to the courts, depending upon the seriousness of the offence. They are, discharges, fines, community sentences and imprisonment. When deciding what sentence to impose, magistrates and judges have to take account of both the facts of the case and the circumstances of the offender. To help them, they may ask the Probation Service to produce a report about the offender, including a proposal regarding the sentence.
