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Totality

s.120 Coroners and Justice Act 2009 · Both

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Sentencing framework

The Totality guideline ensures that when sentencing for multiple offences, the total sentence should be just and proportionate to the overall offending behavior. It guides courts to reflect on the overall harm, categorizing sentences into concurrent or consecutive, allowing for adjustments based on various factors to ensure fairness and proportionality.

Court

Both

Aggravating factors

  • ·Overall harm and culpability
  • ·Aggravating factors relating to each offence
  • ·Aggravating factors personal to the offender

Mitigating factors

  • ·Personal circumstances of the offender

The sentencing process, step by step

  1. Step 1 — Consider the sentence for each individual offence, referring to the relevant sentencing guidelines.
  2. Step 2 — Determine whether the case calls for concurrent or consecutive sentences.
  3. Step 3 — Test the overall sentence against the requirement that the total sentence is just and proportionate to the offending as a whole.
  4. Step 4 — Consider and explain how the sentence is structured in a way that will be best understood by all concerned.

Guideline notes

  • This guideline applies to all offenders whose cases are dealt with on or after 1 July 2023, regardless of the date of the offence.

Always read the full guideline

This is a one-page summary. For any live case, sentencing exercise, or legal advice the authoritative source is the Sentencing Council's own definitive guideline — including the category bands, step-by-step sentencing approach, and all statutory factors not captured here.

Open the full guideline on sentencingcouncil.org.uk

Source: Sentencing Council · Crown copyright, licensed under Open Government Licence v3.0. Summary fetched 2026-06-28. Not legal advice — see a regulated adviser for any live case.