CRIMINAL OFFENCES

168 The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (24 September 2008). Will the Attorney-General advise how many maximum sentences were imposed in South Australian courts, for the period 1 July 2007 to 1 July 2008, for the offences of:

1. Assault (section 20 of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935);

2. Causing Death or Harm by Dangerous Use of Vehicle or Vessel (section 19A of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935);

3. Rape (section 48 of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935);

4. Unlawful Sexual Intercourse (section 49 of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935);

5. Production or Dissemination of Child Pornography (section 63 of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935);

6. Trafficking in Controlled Drugs (section 32 of the Controlled Substances Act 1984, or its previous equivalent section); and

7. Manufacture of Controlled Drugs (section 33 of the Controlled Substances Act 1984, or its previous equivalent section)?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Small Business): The Attorney-General has been provided this information:

Under the Criminal Law Sentencing Act, Judges take into account a range of factors when sentencing including prior offences, age, contrition, mental condition of the defendant, whether the defendant pleads guilty and the personal circumstances of the victim. Maximum penalties are reserved for the most serious commission of the offence.

The following data has been extracted by the Office of Crime Statistics and Research and is based on cases finalised during the 2007-08 financial year where the offence listed was the major charge found guilty.

There were a total of 2,149 cases involving a finding of guilt for the major charge of assault. Of these, 140 cases (6%) received immediate imprisonment/detention and 441 cases (20%) received suspended imprisonment as the major penalty.

The maximum statutory penalty for Aggravated Assault Causing Harm–with weapon/weapon used is 5 years imprisonment and for the offences of Aggravated Assault (with or without weapon), Commit Assault (no weapon or Basic Offence) or Commit Assault That Causes Harm (no weapon or Basic Offence) the maximum penalty ranges from 2 to 4 years depending on which part of the Act the offence relates to.

None of these cases received the maximum penalty. The average period imposed was 24 weeks, with the maximum being 2 years for aggravated offences under section 20(4) of the Act (no weapon involved).

There were a total of 16 cases involving a finding of guilt for the major charge of Causing Death or Harm by Dangerous Use of Vehicle or Vessel. Of these, 5 cases (31%) received immediate imprisonment/detention and 10 cases (62%) received suspended imprisonment as the major penalty.

The maximum statutory penalty for Cause Serious Harm By Dangerous Driving—Aggravated Offence is life imprisonment while for the offences of Cause Death/Serious Harm By Dangerous Driving (Aggravated or Basic Offence) and Cause Harm By Dangerous Driving (Aggravated or Basic Offence) the maximum penalty ranges from 5 to 15 years depending on which part of the Act the offence relates to.

Of the 5 cases finalised in the 2007-08 financial year that received immediate imprisonment or detention, the sentences imposed ranged from 1 year to 5 years 2 months and 2 weeks, with an average period of 2.7 years. None of these cases received the maximum penalty.

There were a total of 20 cases involving a finding of guilt for the major charge of Rape. All of these cases received either an immediate or suspended imprisonment term—12 cases (60%) received immediate imprisonment or detention and 8 cases (40%) received suspended imprisonment as the major penalty.

The maximum statutory penalty for Rape is life imprisonment and for the offence of Rape—Attempted Offence the maximum penalty is 12 years.

Of the 12 cases finalised in the 2007-08 financial year that received immediate imprisonment or detention, the sentences imposed ranged from 1 year and 3 months to 17 years with an average period of 7 years. None of these cases received the maximum penalty.

There were a total of 49 cases involving a finding of guilt for the major charge of Unlawful Sexual Intercourse. Of these, 23 cases (47%) received immediate imprisonment and 16 cases (33%) received suspended imprisonment as the major penalty.

The maximum statutory penalty for Sexual Intercourse With A Person Under 14 Years/Unlawful Sexual Intercourse With A Person Under 12 is life imprisonment while for the offences of Sexual Intercourse With A Person 14 To 17 Years/Intellectually Disabled Person, Unlawful Sexual Intercourse With A Person Under 17 Years and Unlawful Sexual Intercourse the maximum penalty ranges from seven to ten years depending on which part of the Act the offence relates to.

Of the cases in which an immediate imprisonment term was the major penalty, there were 5 cases in which the defendant received a prison term of greater than the maximum penalty for the major charge. These cases received greater than the maximum penalty due to global sentencing under section 18A of the Criminal Law Sentencing Act (see definition below).

Of the remaining 18 cases finalised in the 2007-08 financial year, the immediate imprisonment sentences ranged from 1 year and 3 months to 11 years. None of these cases received the maximum penalty. The average period of direct imprisonment for these 18 cases was 6.4 years.

18A—Sentencing for multiple offences

If a person is found guilty by a court of a number of offences, the court may sentence the person to the one penalty for all or some of those offences, but the sentence cannot exceed the total of the maximum penalties that could be imposed in respect of each of the offences to which the sentence relates.

There were a total of 5 cases involving a finding of guilt for the major charge of Production or Dissemination of Child Pornography. Of these, two cases received immediate imprisonment and two cases received a suspended imprisonment term as the major penalty.

The maximum statutory penalty for Produce Child Pornography (Aggravated Offence) is 12 years while for the offence of Produce Child Pornography the maximum penalty is 10 years.

The two cases that received immediate imprisonment had sentences imposed of 3.5 years and 4 years. These cases did not receive the maximum penalty.

There were a total of 13 cases involving a finding of guilt for an offence under section 32 of the current provisions of the Controlled Substances Act as the major charge found guilty, and 1,002 cases under the previous equivalent section of the Act, in effect prior to 3rd December 2007. These 1,015 cases were all finalised in the 2007-08 financial year.

Of the 13 cases under the current provisions of the Act, one received an immediate imprisonment term of 6 weeks and 3 cases received suspended imprisonment as the major penalty, ranging from 8 months to one year.

The maximum statutory penalty for offences under the current section 32 of the Controlled Substances Act ranges from 2 years to life imprisonment depending on which part of the Act the offence relates to.

Of the 1,002 cases under the previous equivalent section of the Controlled Substances Act, 77 (8%) received a sentence of immediate imprisonment and 166 (17%) received a suspended sentence. The immediate imprisonment terms imposed ranged from 4 weeks to 7 years with an average period of 2.7 years.

The maximum statutory penalty for offences under the previous section 32 of the Controlled Substances Act ranges from 2 years to life imprisonment depending on which part of the Act the offence relates to.

None of the cases received the maximum penalty.

There were no cases finalised in the 2007-08 financial year where the major charge found guilty was an offence under section 33 of the Controlled Substances Act.