Paul Watson Criminal Solicitor Explains
People who are charged with criminal offences, who are not used to having to go to court, often first ask us, “will I go to prison”? If you’re concerned about this, the information below may help.
Some criminal offences are “non-imprisonable”. These are offences such as: being drunk and disorderly in a public place; some minor road traffic offences; and, other low-level offending such as begging.
Most offences, however, will have a maximum term of imprisonment that can be imposed by the court. Usually, for “summary only” offences (those that can only be heard in the magistrates’ court) the maximum term is 6-months imprisonment.
Terms of imprisonment are imposed when offences are so serious that only a custodial sentence is appropriate, or when previous attempts to sentence a person in the community have failed to prevent them from re-offending.