Burney, R. v

In sentencing for perverting the course of justice, a deliberate and persistent deception of the police may require immediate custody despite previous good character and a guilty plea. The court must assess the particular facts, including the offender’s role in initiating the deception, its duration, the steps taken to sustain it, and the offender’s motive. A sentence must nevertheless be proportionate to the gravity of the conduct and the available mitigation.

The appellant pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court to perverting the course of justice. After his son had driven while affected by alcohol and the vehicle collided with a lorry, the appellant encouraged him to leave the scene and falsely claim that the appellant had been driving.

The appellant maintained the account in dealings with the police after his son had withdrawn it. He was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment. He appealed against sentence with leave of the single judge, relying on his good character, guilty plea and motive of protecting his son.

1. Appeal allowed to a limited extent. The court quashed the sentence of 12 months’ imprisonment and substituted six months’ imprisonment.

2. Immediate custody was justified. The offence involved more than an impulsive attempt by a father to protect his son. The appellant had encouraged his son to drive after drinking, encouraged both of them to leave the accident scene, and caused the police to investigate an abandoned damaged vehicle in the early hours.

3. The deception was aggravated by its persistence. The appellant continued to assert that he had been the driver after his son had promptly admitted the truth. His eventual effective admission occurred only several days later, during a police-station visit concerning the vehicle.

4. The appellant’s previous good character, guilty plea and understandable paternal motive did not remove the need for custody. However, having evaluated those matters together with the seriousness and persistence of the conduct, the court held that six months’ imprisonment sufficiently marked its gravity.

• Court of Appeal (Criminal Division): allowed the appeal against sentence and substituted six months’ imprisonment for 12 months’ imprisonment.
• Crown Court at Maidstone: following a guilty plea to perverting the course of justice, imposed 12 months’ imprisonment on 19 April 2007.