Shorter sentences for drug mules: The early impact of the sentencing guidelines in England and Wales

Abstract

Aims: In February 2012, new sentencing guidelines for drug offences became effective in all courts in England and Wales. An explicit aim was to reduce the length of sentences for drug “mules” and so make them more proportionate. Methods: This article examines their early impact drawing on data from the Court Proceedings Database and the Crown Court Sentencing Survey for importing/exporting a Class A drug. Findings: Overall, the guidelines have achieved their intended aim. The length of the average custodial sentence for drug trafficking fell following the introduction of the guidelines, largely due to taking defendants' roles into account. Notably, three-quarters of those in “lesser” roles received sentences less than four years, representing an important change. Nonetheless, around 10% of mules received very long sentences due to the continued use of drug weight in sentencing. Conclusion: The new guidelines represent an internationally important innovation in drug policy reform.

• Crown Court Sentencing Survey
• drug mules
• proportionality
• sentencing guidelines

Declaration of interest

There are no conflicts of interest to report.

Notes

¹R v Lewis, Wijtvliet and Vriezen [2012] EWCA Crim 1414.

²The term “mule” is sometimes considered derogatory since it describes people as animals, however, alternatives such as “courier” also carry with them problematic connotations.

³This involved a period of consultation and research including interviews with drug mules (Marshall & Moreton, 2011), focus groups with members of the public (Jacobson et al., 2011) and consultations with judiciary (Sentencing Council, 2011b) and drug policy organisations (Harris, 2011b).

⁴Data tables – Criminal Justice Statistics, especially S5.1 Offenders convicted and sentenced at all courts and S5.8 Persons sentenced to immediate custody at all courts by offence, sex, length of sentence and average sentence length, in Volume 5, “Court Proceedings”.

⁵In 2012, 81 people were sentenced for importing a Class B drug and 8 for a Class C drug and 340 for a Class A drug. A very brief analysis revealed a reduction in average sentence length in 2012 compared to 2011 for offences involving importation of Class B (36 months to in 2011 to 24 months in 2012) and C drugs (45 months in 2011 to 36 months). Oddly, the average sentence for importation of Class C drugs was longer than Class B drugs between 2010 and 2012.

⁶Data on quantity were missing for 13 cases.