Table of Contents

1. Penal Populism: Sentencing Councils and Sentencing Policy 2. Sentencing Policy and Practice: The Evolving Role of Public Opinion 3. Penal Populism and Penal Scandal in New Zealand 4. Dealing the Public In: Challenges for a Transparent and Accountable Sentencing Policy 5. Myths and Misconceptions: Public Opinion Versus Public Judgment About Sentencing 6. The Role of the Public in Sentencing Policy Development under the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines 7. The Failures of the United States Sentencing Commission 8. English Sentencing Guidelines in their Public and Political Context 9. The New South Wales Sentencing Council 10. The Sentencing Commission for Scotland 11. The Victorian Sentencing Advisory Council: Incorporating Community Views into the Sentencing Process 12. A Perspective on the Work of the Victorian Sentencing Advisory Council and its Potential to Promote Respect and Equality for Women 13. Sentencing Reform in New Zealand: A Proposal to Establish a Sentencing Council 14. Proposals for a Sentencing Council in South Africa 15. A Federal Sentencing Council for Australia 16. Institutional Mechanisms for Incorporating the Public in the Development of Sentencing Policy 17. Does it Matter? Reflections on the Effectiveness of Institutionalised Public Participation in the Development of Sentencing Policy

About the Author

Arie Freiberg is Chair of the Victorian Sentencing Advisory Council and is the current Dean of Law at Monash University, following ten years as the Foundation Chair of Criminology at the University of Melbourne.

Karen Gelb obtained her doctorate in Criminology from New York University and is currently the Senior Criminologist for the Sentencing Advisory Council in Victoria, Australia. She spent five years at the National Centre for Crime and Justice Statistics, part of the Australian Bureau of Statistics.