Lord Woolf hits back on burglars

The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Woolf, this week took the unusual step of issuing a statement in open court to counter the 'inaccurate reporting' of his guidelines on sentencing domestic housebreakers, emphasising that they were 'not a charter for burglars'.

Both Lord Woolf and the Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine, who supported the guidelines, have been under sustained attack for supposedly saying that burglars should not be sent to prison.

The guidelines came in Lord Woolf's ruling in two appeals heard on 19 December.

Lord Woolf said it was wrong to suggest that 'the court is more concerned with the offenders than their victims', adding that 'the consequences to the victim should always be of the greatest significance in determining the appropriate punishment.

He added: 'It is also suggested that the court recommended that all first or second-time burglars, who might otherwise be sentenced to up to 18 months' imprisonment, should be given a community sentence.

In fact, the court made the recommendation of a community sentence as a starting point.'

He said a starting point meant nothing more than the point at which the sentencer should commence the determination of what is the correct sentence.

In many cases, it will not be the actual sentence because it will not be the appropriate one, he emphasised.

Lord Woolf said: 'We hope we have said enough to make clear that the judgment is not a charter to offenders to commit burglary as has also been suggested.

Nor is it a body blow to the efforts of the police to detect offenders who commit burglary.

On the contrary, the principles in the judgment will act as a deterrent while at the same time contributing to achieving the reduction in reoffending that is so important if the public is to be protected.

'We make this statement to correct the inaccurate reporting that has taken place, because of the danger that, if allowed to stand, the inaccuracies will unjustifiably undermine the confidence of the public in the criminal justice system in a manner totally unwarranted by the judgment.

See Press round-up, page 13 (see Gazette [2003] 16 January)