Interactive website lets public play judge in real criminal cases

New initiative launched by Sentencing Council

A new interactive website has been launched that allows member of the public to hand down their own sentences in real criminal cases.

‘You be the Judge‘, created by the Sentencing Council, lets users take on the position of a judge or magistrate to sentence defendants based upon the facts of real cases.

The platform features a range of offences, and offers budding benchers an insight into the facts, aggravation, and mitigation of each one, before allowing viewers to select their own sentence.

Each case is based upon a real set of facts, with offences such as fraud, possession with intent to supply a class A drug, possession of a bladed article, robbery, assault on an emergency worker, and possession of a firearm all on the roster.

The scenarios also inform users of the actual sentence in the case, with the aim of the scheme being to help improve public understanding of the sentencing process.

Lord Justice William Davis, chair of the Sentencing Council, commented: “You be the Judge gives the public a unique opportunity to see for themselves how complex the sentencing process is and how sentencing guidelines help judges and magistrates take a consistent approach.”

Lady Chief Justice, Lady Carr, added:

“The Judiciary of England and Wales supports the Sentencing Council’s new initiative to increase the public’s understanding of how sentencing works. Judges and magistrates make decisions based on the individual circumstances of the cases before them, and You be the Judge is a great way to encourage greater understanding of these decisions.”