Arnold & Taylor [2019] EWCA Crim 1821

The appellants pleaded guilty to attempted burglary. Arnold was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment and Taylor to 27 months.

The two youths tried to gain entry to a house and garage in an attempt to take the car from the drive. The sentencing judge found factors indicating greater harm and higher culpability, reaching a starting point of 3 years.
Held: there was no reason in principle why an offence of this sort requires an immediate custodial sentence. In light of Arnold’s low risk of re-offending and realistic prospects of rehabilitation, as well as his personal mitigation, there was no reason why his sentence could not and should not be suspended. His sentence was quashed, and the sentence imposed was 18 months’ imprisonment suspended for 18 months.

Assuming the same starting figure for Taylor, the question of delay was of unusual significance. As a result, he had one more conviction than he would have had, and because of that, he had experienced custody and shown every sign of being deterred from further offending as a result. There was good reason for his sentence to be higher than that of Arnold but not an uplift of 9 months. His sentence was quashed and substituted was one of 2 years
suspended for 18 months.