Pre Sentence Report In Crown Court Help

[pk1971pk]

hello
I have had my PSR completed now and it states I would have a low chance of re offending, have a stable family life with home and stable job. the lady actually mentioned it was an easy interview to complete

I have pleaded guilty to affray and understand starting point is custodial, the recommendation on my PSR was 120/180 hours community service, with me having a good character and clean record along with this positive PSR what are the chances the judge will not impose actual custody and provide alternatives or even suspended ?
how close do crown court judges follow PSR recommendations in relation to affray charge
thanks

[bednobs]

well if they didn't pay attention to them, there'd not be much point in doing htem

[pk1971pk]

what I mean sorry is that if the starting point is prison but the PSR recommends community service would the judge accept this and give me lower than what the starting point is ? sorry but iam so confused

my barrister says crown courts of course take them into consideration but generally acts outside them Vs magistrates courts which generally accept them - iam being told iam 50/50 of having actual prison from my barrister, 50% chance for me the report and 50% against that the judge wants to make an example of me
thanks

[EDDIE51]

What actually happened to cause the charge?
Was this case 'referred up' to crown court from Magistrates?
Affray has a wide range of situations but normally only the more serious cases are heard at Crown court

[pk1971pk]

thanks for the reply
it was heard in magistrate's then sent to crown
basically what happened was we went to a football game, going to the station to go home we got in a incident with some other fans at first it was just singing then someone hit my friend and attempted to hit me, it then spilled into the concourse area as it became clear there was 8/10 people coming at 3 of us - for 1 min max there was a bit of pushing and shoving with no punches connecting then I did strike one of them just as the police arrived - I was arrested and taken away
that's it really, its football related and in a public place so I know I need some punishment but in my opinion actual prison is a bit heavy handed when you consider the whole incident only last 3 mins max from start to finish
3 others being charged at same time - 2 we don't know and who attacked us and 1 other being my friend - he was the one who was punched and didn't throw a punch yet he also had to plead to affray
my barrister thinks it is 50/50 but iam hoping my very good PSR and my clean background can help keep me out of prison
thanks

[Buenchico]

Judges don't have to follow the recommendations of pre-sentence reports. However your barrister should draw the judge's attention to the recommendation (even though he should have read it anyway) and it's highly likely that it will be followed (particular as you've got no previous convictions). Unlike magistrates (who sometimes seem to be power-crazed and sheer bloody-minded at times), judges usually do their utmost to keep people out of prison.

[pk1971pk]

thanks for the reply
I just need to put it all behind me - going to prison would effectively mean I lose my business and the knock on effects scare the hell out of me.
I hope you are right and the judge looks at all the facts and I escape actual prison - my only fear is that he wants to make an example of us all and we get sent to prison.
From what my barrister said Its the other way around where magistrates judges seem to follow the PSR a lot more than crown court judges do, he said crown court judges of course acknowledge them but do vary quite often form the recommendations
all on the day I guess and hope I get a decent judge and a slice of luck on the day !