Doherty Again

The singer Pete Doherty has been sentenced today at Ealing Magistrates' Court (no connection to this blog, as you know). Tomorrow's press will presumably go to town on the story, and I have no doubt that the phrase 'walked free from court' will be used, as the consensus among journos is that it's either jail or a let-off.

Just two points: the guideline entry point for Class A possession is a Community Penalty, (see page 118 here)which he was given, and he was remanded in custody pending today's hearing although he went on to receive a non-custodial sentence, as happens in so many cases.

Both the Bail Act and community penalties are wilfully misrepresented by the tabloids, so we shall see what tomorrow brings.

(later)
In response to a question in the comments, details of available community sentence options are in the Bench Book here at page 264 of the pdf file. It's a kind of pick'n'mix but due to shortage of resources not all options are available all of the time.