The Sentencing Council has launched ‘You Be the Judge’, a website allowing users to step into the shoes of judges and magistrates.

Visitors to the site choose between six fictional scenarios based on real cases. They include fraud, robbery, and assault on an emergency worker.

Short videos then play which show, in courtroom-drama format, the facts of the case. Actors play the roles of judges, counsel, and the defendant. Users are invited to weigh up aggravating and mitigating factors before choosing between sentencing options. Finally, they are told the sentence which would’ve been handed down in the case, according to the Sentencing Guidelines.

The Sentencing Council states that it hopes ‘You Be The Judge’ will highlight the ‘difficult and complex process’ of sentencing, showing the criteria used by courts to be ‘consistent and transparent.’

The instructive purpose of the platform is clear throughout. Actors playing defendants look dejected and remorseful. In the scenario video for ‘Possession of a bladed article’, an actress playing the defendant’s mother breaks down into tears as he is given a rehabilitation order; in ‘Robbery’, it is made clear the defendant’s jail sentence means he will miss the birth of his child.

This exercise follows findings showing that a majority of the public thought sentencing was too lenient. This perception tended to change, however, when the public was presented with scenarios based on real cases.

‘You Be the Judge’ seems poised to fulfill one of the Sentencing Council’s original comments on the findings: ‘Providing people with information about sentencing guidelines improves confidence in the fairness of sentencing.’