The Council has published a new guideline for judges and magistrates sentencing strangulation and suffocation offences in England and Wales.
It will come into force on 1st January 2025. The guideline aims to ensure consistent and appropriate sentencing for these serious crimes, which are often linked to domestic abuse but can also occur in other contexts.
The guideline applies to both the standard and racially or religiously aggravated versions of these offences, which were introduced under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 and came into effect on 7th June 2022.
Her Honour Judge Rosa Dean, who led the development of the guideline, emphasised the seriousness of these crimes, stating:
“Strangulation and suffocation are very serious offences that create a real and justified fear of death. Victims can experience extreme terror and a high degree of psychological harm, even where no physical injuries are visible.”
The new framework builds on principles established in a Court of Appeal judgment and adopts the Sentencing Council’s structured approach to assessing offender culpability and victim harm.
