If you have pleaded guilty to a criminal offence, the court may request that a Pre-Sentence Report (PSR) is prepared. The purpose of a Pre-Sentence Report (PSR) is to provide the court with a balanced picture of who you are before passing sentence.
It will focus not only on the offence itself but also upon you as the offender. The probation service are completely impartial and have no association with the police or other authorities. A PSR can be extremely beneficial to you.
What is a pre-sentence report?
A pre-sentence report is a document written by a probation officer following an interview with you. The report should be an impartial report that provides the court with information about you including your background, family, education, career and any responsibilities that you may have. It should provide the court with some understanding as to what led you to commit the offence, and how you feel about it now. They will assess your attitude towards the offending behaviour, for example, if you are sorry about it, and consider any risk you pose to the public.
A pre-sentence report will suggest the most appropriate sentence for the committed offence and make recommendations to the sentencing court. The court does not have to follow any recommendations made, but it is helpful to have this impartial report to work with.
A lawyer’s top tips ahead of your pre-sentence interview
- Do not miss the appointment
If you fail to attend, you may not have the benefit of a report which could reflect badly upon you and the sentence you receive. Not showing up could give the impression that you might be less inclined to attend a community sentence, for example.
If you have a genuine clash for which you cannot attend the scheduled appointment, you need to give advance warning to the Probation service so they can try to reschedule before your Court date.
- Do you have any supporting materials?
You should show the officer any character references that you may have gathered for sentence.
If you suffer from mental health issues which may have impacted your judgement when committing an offence, it can be crucial to provide such evidence of diagnoses, medical reports or medication.
You should also highlight any steps that you have taken to address your behaviour e.g. joining courses, abstaining from alcohol/drugs, and gaining employment. All these things will be considered ’protective factors’, meaning the court may take the view that you have already taken steps to minimise the risk of re-offending.
If you feel remorse or regret for the offence, you should make it known. Your tone of voice and perceived honesty in doing so is also crucial; be aware of what you say, but also how you say it. Showing an understanding of the effect and lasting impact of your actions can demonstrate remorse and prove that you are less likely to offend in the future.
Demonstrating an openness to talk rationally and communicating effectively can convince the interviewer that you would be willing to engage with a Probation officer. This could tip the scales between a community or custodial sentence, so can be very important.
The pre-sentence interview
Interviews typically take an hour and may be in person but are often conducted via telephone. If a PSR is ordered you may have a ‘stand down’ (oral) report which will be completed at court the same day the plea is entered. Alternatively, you will be provided with an appointment to see probation and have the sentencing hearing adjourned.
You must co-operate with probation, or it may harm the sentence handed down. The court can impose a bail condition that you cooperate with probation.
If you do not attend a pre-sentence interview, you may be sentenced without the benefit of a report. If you have pleaded guilty on a basis then it is important that you are aware of that basis, and are in agreement with it.
Cooperating with the probation officer who is conducting the interview and writing the report can contribute to a more favourable recommendation. In contrast, failure to answer questions or disrespecting a probation officer may negatively impact the recommendations within the report.
Before Sentencing
It is unlikely that you will see a copy of the pre-sentence report until immediately before sentencing when it will be provided to your solicitor, the court and the prosecution.
If the court is considering imposing a custodial sentence or a community order, a PSR must be obtained unless the court considers it unnecessary to do so.
You will be able to go through it before you are sentenced so that anything that you disagree with can be raised.
The report will not be read out in court, but the prosecution, defence or judge can make reference to it or ask questions about it.
How your solicitor can help
When reading through the report, if there is something that you disagree with, let your solicitor know so that the issue can be raised.
This is just one element of the process of a criminal investigation, and so you should be able to rely on your solicitor to flag anything that doesn’t look right.
If you have yet to contact a solicitor about an allegation, police interview, pre-sentencing or upcoming trial, there is no time like the present. Contact our crime team on 0161 969 3131 or fill in our confidential contact form below and we’ll be in touch.