Sentencing Council publishes reports on user testing of sentencing guidelines

Article summary

The Sentencing Council has published reports on both parts of its research on how guideline users, including sentencers and other legal professionals, access, use and interact with the sentencing guidelines on its website. The first report relates to a survey distributed by the Sentencing Council to guideline users in 2022, regarding how guideline users use and interact with the website. The second report relates to research conducted by the Behavioural Insights Team. The Sentencing Council has said that the research has identified areas where the usability of the website, such as the search function and fine calculator, could be improved. It has said that in response to the findings, it is undertaking a series of enhancements designed to help users find and work with the guidelines and other content on its website.