Cakraj, R. v

For a person of good character who pleads guilty to possessing a single false passport with intent and acts alone, the usual custodial range is 12 to 18 months. This guidance applies equally to an offence under section 25 of the Identity Cards Act 2006.

Deterrence is required, but sentence must reflect the actual category of offending. Greater culpability may arise where an offender is a courier, has more than one passport, or acts within an organised group. A sentencing court must not aggravate sentence by punishing uncharged offending.

The appellant pleaded guilty at Canterbury Crown Court to possessing a forged Slovenian passport with intent, contrary to section 25 of the Identity Cards Act 2006. He had bought it in Albania, used it to work under a false identity, and was stopped while travelling from the United Kingdom to France.

The Recorder imposed two and a half years’ imprisonment, treating the case as more serious than Kolawole and relying on supposed immigration offending after the appellant’s arrival. The appellant appealed against sentence, contending that the Recorder had exceeded the proper scope of sentencing and failed to apply the relevant guidance. The central issue was whether the term was manifestly excessive.

1. Appeal allowed. The term of two and a half years’ imprisonment was quashed and replaced by a term of 12 months’ imprisonment.
2. The offence was serious and required a deterrent custodial sentence. The court held that the sentencing guidance in Kolawole, [2004] EWCA Crim. 3047, applied equally to section 25 of the Identity Cards Act 2006. For possession of a false passport with intent, a person of good character who pleads guilty should usually receive 12 to 18 months’ imprisonment.
3. The guidance required differentiation by culpability. Couriers, offenders carrying more than one passport, and those acting as part of an organised group have considerably greater culpability. The appellant possessed one passport and was plainly acting alone. The Recorder therefore erred in treating his offending as more serious than Kolawole, where the offender possessed both a forged Nigerian passport and a stolen British passport and a total sentence of 16 months was upheld.
4. The Recorder also erred by aggravating sentence on the basis that the appellant had committed immigration offences after arriving in the United Kingdom and over a lengthy period. Those matters were not charged on the indictment and were not offences for which he fell to be sentenced.
5. Taking account of the proper sentencing range, the guilty plea, and the undisputed mitigating background, the original sentence was manifestly excessive.

• Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) — allowed the appeal against sentence, quashed the term of two and a half years, and substituted 12 months’ imprisonment: [2007] EWCA Crim 366.
• Canterbury Crown Court — following a guilty plea, imposed two and a half years’ imprisonment for possession of a false passport with intent.