Sentencing can be defined as "the judicial determination of a legal sanction to be imposed on a person found guilty of an offence." It is one of several stages, which together comprise what is often referred to as the criminal justice system, although some might argue that it is an overstatement to categorize such disparate functions as a system. These stages are: (A) Crime prevention and maintenance of order (B) Detection and enforcement (including investigation) (C) Prosecution (D) Adjudication (E) Sentencing/disposition (F) Administration of sentences/dispositions.
Generally speaking the branches of central government have the dominant role in most of the above, although a number of qualifications should be mentioned. Individuals retain the right to institute private prosecutions at the summary level. In jury trials, members of the public are the determiners of fact and private organizations or individuals often have an important role in the administration of certain sentences.
Under our system of government the police take principal responsibility for stages (a) and (b); the police and crown prosecutors for stage (c); the courts (particularly judicial officers) for (d) and (e); and courts, prisons, and community corrections for (f). These agencies all operate within rules, which allow a significant amount of discretion to the officers involved. Increasingly, they are also purchasing contract services from non-government agencies and community groups.
It is probably unrealistic to expect alterations to any but the first stage and possibly the second to have a major direct impact on the level of crime in the community. This is for a number of obvious but frequently forgotten reasons. One is that the later stages are actually designed to respond to offending which has already taken place, rather than to prevent crime. That is, increasing