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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
Time: 3:02 am
Time: 3:02 am
Results for determinate sentences
1 results foundAuthor: Brignell, Georgia Title: Sentencing in NSW: A cross-jurisdictional comparison of full-time imprisonment Summary: It is common for participants in debates about sentencing in NSW (and elsewhere) to assert that sentencing by the courts is either too lenient or too harsh. Severity and leniency are, however, relative concepts. This study examines how sentences of imprisonment imposed in NSW for offences dealt with on indictment compare with interstate jurisdictions. The sentences imposed in jurisdictions such as Queensland and Victoria serve as a yardstick against which sentences in NSW can be judged. The study also compares NSW prison statistics against interstate and international (common law) jurisdictions. The analysis shows that, comparatively speaking, NSW is one of the harshest jurisdictions in Australia. Sentencing is an area of law largely regulated by State and Territory governments. The respective Parliaments of each jurisdiction define the ingredients of offences and set maximum penalties. Sentencing law is the same across Australian jurisdictions in two important respects: first, in determining a sentence the court must apply the principle of proportionality - the sentence imposed should neither exceed nor be less than the gravity of the crime having regard to the objective circumstances; and secondly, full-time imprisonment is a sanction of last resort - a court must not sentence an offender to imprisonment unless it is satisfied, having considered all possible alternatives, that no penalty other than imprisonment is appropriate. The study overcomes differences between jurisdictions by carefully aligning offences and further coding sentencing data. The analysis also takes into account custodial options which require an offender to serve part of his or her sentence in a prison, such as partially suspended sentences. The latter sentencing option is available in Queensland and until very recently in Victoria. The head sentence (that is, the non-parole period and parole period of a term of imprisonment) imposed for the principal offence has been used for the purposes of comparing the length of sentences in each jurisdiction. The sentence for the principal offence does not, however, reflect how long an offender actually spends in prison in cases where more than one offence has been committed. Nevertheless, it is the best measure of sentencing levels for a given offence. The study focuses on serious cases dealt with on indictment in NSW, Queensland and Victoria. Five categories of offence are examined: sexual assault, child sexual assault, dangerous/culpable driving causing death, robbery, and break and enter/burglary. Statutory maximum penalties, full-time imprisonment rates and median head sentences are reported for these five categories of offence. The study also compares the imprisonment rate per 100,000 in the adult population in NSW with a number of Australian and international jurisdictions. Details: Sydney: Judicial Commission of NSW, 2015. 82p. Source: Internet Resource: Research monograph 39: Accessed April 15, 2015 at: http://www.judcom.nsw.gov.au/publications/research-monographs-1/research-monograph-39/Monograph_39_complete.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Australia URL: http://www.judcom.nsw.gov.au/publications/research-monographs-1/research-monograph-39/Monograph_39_complete.pdf Shelf Number: 135214 Keywords: Determinate SentencesImprisonmentSentencing (New South Wales) |