Aggravating factors
Factors indicating higher culpability:
- offence committed whilst on bail for other offences;
- failure to respond to previous sentences;
- offence was racially or religiously aggravated;
- offence motivated by, or demonstrating, hostility to the victim based on his or her sexual orientation (or presumed sexual orientation);
- offence motivated by, or demonstrating, hostility based on the victim’s disability (or presumed disability);
- previous conviction(s), particularly where a pattern of repeat offending is disclosed;
- planning of an offence;
- an intention to commit more serious harm than actually resulted from the offence;
- offenders operating in groups or gangs;
- ‘professional’ offending;
- commission of the offence for financial gain (where this is not inherent in the offence itself);
- high level of profit from the offence;
- an attempt to conceal or dispose of evidenceEvidence All the means by which a matter of fact, the truth of which is submitted for investigation, is established or disproved. Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Adhiniyam 2023 ;
- failure to respond to warnings or concerns expressed by others about the offender’s behaviour;
- offence committed whilst on licence;
- offence motivated by hostility towards a minority group, or a member or members of it;
- deliberate targeting of vulnerable victim(s);
- commission of an offence while under the influence of alcoholAlcohol It is a psychoactive substance (WHO). Ethanol/ethyl alcohol/alcohol >The alcoholic beverage industry has generally agreed not to use synthetic ethanol manufactured from ethylene in alcoholic beverages, due to the presence of impurities. Ethanol is a primary alcohol (C2H6O) that is ethane in which one of the hydrogens is substituted by a hydroxy group. It has a role as an antiseptic drug, a polar solvent, a neurotoxin, a central nervous system depressant, and a teratogenic agent. or drugs;
- use of a weapon to frighten or injure victim;
- deliberate and gratuitous violence or damage to property, over and above what is needed to carry out the offence;
- abuse of power;
- abuse of a position of trust.
Factors indicating a more than usually serious degree of harm:
- multiple victims;
- an especially serious physical or psychological effect on the victim, even if unintended;
- a sustained assault or repeated assaults on the same victim;
- victim is particularly vulnerable;
- location of the offence (for example, in an isolated place);
- offence is committed against those working in the public sector or providing a service to the public;
- presence of others for example, relatives, especially children or partner of the victim;
- additional degradation of the victim (for example, taking photographs of a victim as part of a sexual offence);
- in property offences, high value (including sentimental value) of property to the victim, or substantial consequential loss (for example, where the theft of equipment causes serious disruption to a victim’s life or business).
Mitigating factors
Factors indicating lower culpability:
- a greater degree of provocation than normally expected;
- mental illness or disability;
- youth or age, where it affects the responsibility of the individual defendant;
- the fact that the offender played only a minor role in the offence.
Offender mitigation
- genuine remorse;
- admissions to police in interview;
- ready co-operation with authorities.