Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005

Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005

2005 CHAPTER 15

The Act

Commentary on Sections

Part 2: Investigations, prosecutions, proceedings and proceeds of crime

Chapter 2: Offenders assisting investigations and prosecutions

Section 74: Assistance by defendant: review of sentence

175. This section provides that where a person is still serving a sentence imposed by the Crown Court and one of the conditions in subsection (2) applies, a specified prosecutor may refer the person’s sentence back to the court for review (where possible to the original sentencing judge), where he considers it is in the interests of justice to do so. The subsection (2) conditions are that the defendant received a reduced sentence on the basis of an agreement to assist, but then knowingly failed to give that assistance; or the defendant gives or agrees to give assistance after they have been sentenced. Subsection (5) gives the court a power to substitute a greater sentence where it considers the person has failed to assist (not exceeding the sentence it could have passed but for the agreement). However, where a person has provided assistance or offered to assist, subsection (6) gives the court a power to take that into account and to reduce the individual’s sentence accordingly. Subsections (8) and (9) provide that normal avenues of appeal against sentence apply. Subsection (13) ensures that where a person was convicted of an offence for which the sentence was fixed by law, they must have pleaded guilty if their sentence is to be referred back to court for a review under this section.