A head sentence of five years imprisonment for burglary in the night (entry into non-residential area under a highset house) and assault occasioning bodily harm whilst armed (causing a laceration requiring six staples), committed by a sole offender apparently motivated by emotion rather than associated criminal conduct, was manifestly excessive even for an offender with a very bad criminal history including prior sentences of seven and twelve years imprisonment. Four years was the appropriate head sentence. The Veen [No 2] principle constrains the extent to which criminal history can uplift a sentence beyond what is proportionate to the gravity of the instant offending.
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