Sentencing Act 1997: Distribution, Copying and Retention of Pre-sentence Reports and Mediation Reports
Subject to any order of the court regarding the distribution and security of a pre-sentence report or mediation report made pursuant to the Sentencing Act 1997 section 87(2) and to any statutory provision, the following directions shall regulate the practice and procedure of Courts of Petty Sessions with regard to the distribution, copying and retention of pre-sentence reports and mediation reports:
1. A person who has been given a report pursuant to the Sentencing Act 1997 section 87(3) must not show or supply:
(a) the report, or
(b) a part of the report, or
(c) a copy of the report or any part of it
to any person other than the prosecutor, offender or the offender’s legal advisers.
2. The report or any part of the report must not be copied by any means.
3. The prosecutor and the offender or the offender’s counsel, as the case may be, shall return the report to the Court Clerk to the presiding Magistrate or to a Probation Officer not later than the conclusion of the proceedings to which it relates.
4. This Practice Direction commences on 1 August 1998.