Ethnic disparities in sentencing and the perception of fairness

The publication of new guidelines on pre-sentencing reports by the Sentencing Council focussing on offenders from ethnic and faith minorities has sparked claims of “two-tier justice”. Eoin Guilfoyle, Jose Pina Sanchez and Sara Geneletti defend the intentions of the new guidelines, but argue that it’s important that they not only contribute to greater fairness in sentencing, but that they are also perceived to do so by the public.