Reduction in Sentence (Credit) for a Guilty Plea and for Assisting the Prosecution

All contents > Part 1 Pleading Guilty > Part 2 Credit for a guilty plea > Part 3 Basis of Plea > Part 4 Changing Plea

“if you plead guilty or indicate a plea of guilty at the first available opportunity (usually your first appearance at the magistrates’ court) you will normally be given 1/3 credit, i.e. a one-third reduction in the sentence which would otherwise have been imposed if you were found guilty at trial.”

On this page:

Credit for a guilty plea
Credit in Murder Cases & Mandatory Minimum Term Sentences
Loss of Credit after Newton Hearing
Credit for assisting the prosecution

Credit for a guilty plea

First available opportunity (one third reduction) - if you plead guilty or indicate a plea of guilty at the first available opportunity (usually your first appearance at the magistrates’ court) you will normally be given 1/3 credit, i.e. a one-third reduction in the sentence which would otherwise have been imposed if you were found guilty at trial.
After the first opportunity (max one quarter reduction) - after this first stage of the proceedings the amount of credit you will receive for a guilty plea reduces on a sliding scale all the way to trial. A guilty plea after the first opportunity attracts up to ¼ (maximum 25% reduction) down to a maximum of 1/10 (10% off the sentence) for a guilty plea on the first day of trial.
Day of trial (max one tenth reduction) - a guilty plea on the day of trial and before the trial starts is most likely to attract the maximum 10% credit available at this stage. Pleading guilty during the trial itself may attract some credit but not necessarily. For example, a guilty plea entered after the victim of the offence has given evidence is unlikely to attract any credit at all.

Pre-recorded cross-examination

It is worth bearing in mind that in some cases, a pre-recorded cross-examination may take place, which is then used when the actual trial is heard in court (s.28 Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999).
In these cases, the first day of trial is considered to be when the recorded cross-examination takes place (Criminal Practice Direction 2023, 6.3.36).