Section 16 — Sentencing Act 2002: Sentence of imprisonment

16 Sentence of imprisonment (1) When considering the imposition of a sentence of imprisonment for any particular offence, the court must have regard to the desirability of keeping offenders in the community as far as that is practicable and consonant with the safety of the community. (2) The court must not impose a sentence of imprisonment unless it is satisfied that,— (a) a sentence is being imposed for all or any of the purposes in section 7(1)(a) to (c) , (e) , (f) , or (g) ; and (b) those purposes cannot be achieved by a sentence other than imprisonment; and (c) No other sentence would be consistent with the application of the principles in section 8 to the particular case. (3) This section is subject to any provision in this or any other enactment that— (a) provides a presumption in favour of or against imposing a sentence of imprisonment in relation to a particular offence; or (b) requires a court to impose a sentence of imprisonment in relation to a particular offence. Compare: 1985 No 120 s 7(1)