Sentencing in England and Wales has evolved in a direction apart from other common law countries. Although sentencing problems found in many Western nations are present, legislative and judicial responses have been very different. The use of custody rose steeply in the 1990s and has remained stable around that level in recent years. Crimes of violence and sexual aggression have, however, attracted increasingly longer sentences. The other principal changes are a steep increase in indeterminate sentence offenders, now accounting for some 19 percent of the prison population, and a striking rise in the volume of suspended sentences that has reduced the use of community sentences rather than terms of imprisonment. Net widening has therefore occurred. The principal distinction between England and most other jurisdictions is that statutorily binding guidelines now exist for both magistrates’ and higher courts. Unlike most US guidelines that assign offenses to levels of seriousness within a single sentencing grid, the English guidelines are offense specific. The Sentencing Council has also issued “generic” guidelines applying to all categories of offending. The guidelines have been evolving for over a decade now and cover most common offenses. Growing, but still limited, research suggests modest positive effects on consistency and proportionality in sentencing.

中文翻译：

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2003–2015年英格兰和威尔士的量刑政策和实践的演变

英格兰和威尔士的判刑方式朝着与其他普通法国家不同的方向发展。尽管存在许多西方国家存在的量刑问题，但立法和司法对策却大不相同。监护的使用在1990年代急剧上升，近年来一直保持在该水平附近。但是，暴力和性侵害罪的刑期越来越长。其他主要变化是，不确定的罪犯急剧增加，目前已占监狱人口的19％，缓刑的数量急剧增加，这减少了使用社区刑罚而不是监禁刑期。因此发生了网络扩展。英格兰与大多数其他司法管辖区之间的主要区别在于，现在对治安法院和高等法院都存在具有法律约束力的准则。与大多数美国指南在一个量刑网格内将罪行的严重程度指定为严重程度不同，英语指南是针对特定罪行的。量刑委员会还发布了适用于所有类别犯罪的“一般”准则。准则已经发展了十多年，涵盖了最常见的违法行为。越来越多但仍然有限的研究表明，对量刑的一致性和比例性有适度的积极影响。量刑委员会还发布了适用于所有类别犯罪的“一般”准则。准则已经发展了十多年，涵盖了最常见的违法行为。越来越多但仍然有限的研究表明，对量刑的一致性和比例性有适度的积极影响。量刑委员会还发布了适用于所有类别犯罪的“一般”准则。准则已经发展了十多年，涵盖了最常见的违法行为。越来越多但仍然有限的研究表明，对量刑的一致性和比例性有适度的积极影响。