A sentencing judge's failure to refer to sworn evidence given by an offender on the plea is an undesirable practice, and ordinarily the judge must make plain how such evidence has been treated, but the failure will not ground a successful appeal where there is no reasonable prospect of a less severe sentence. Deficiencies in the preparation of a pre-sentence report (including failure to interview the offender) may be cured by cross-examination of the report's author and the offender's own evidence. The weight of youth as a mitigating factor is significantly reduced where the offending is extremely serious, premeditated and calculated, and the offender has a history of relevant serious offending and repeated breaches of court orders.
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