The Sentencing Council has published, in accordance with section 120 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, a sentencing guideline for offences of strangulation and suffocation which will come into effect on 1 January 2025. This follows a consultation which took place from 15 May 2024 to 14 August 2024.
There is one sentencing guideline which covers the offence of strangulation or suffocation contrary to 75A of the Serious Crime Act 2015. The offence carries a maximum of five years’ imprisonment. There is a racially aggravated form of the offence which carries 7 years imprisonment.
The guideline applies to all offenders aged 18 or over who commit offences of strangulation or suffocation. There was previously no sentencing guideline for this offence. The guideline is available on the Sentencing Council website www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk.
As ever, the Council is very grateful to those who responded to the consultations and the helpful suggestions we received have resulted in modifications to the original proposals.
Alongside the guidelines we are publishing a document setting out the response to the consultation and other related documents which can be found here.