Recidivism in Australia : findings and future research - Australian ...

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26 Recidivism in Australia: findings and future research Figure 3: Nested police and court data APPEARANCE CONvICTION SENTENCE CHARGES LAID ARREST DETECTION/ APPREHENSION OFFENDING EPISODE OFFENCE Altercation at local pub Assault Sentenced for one charge: Steal MV Convicted for one charge: Steal MV Appearance for two charges: Assault and Steal MV Assault Police arrest offender Detected at time of break and enter, but dealt with for earlier assault offences Vandalism Steal MV Assault Break and enter Stealing Sentenced for one charge: Speeding Convicted for one charge: Speeding Appearance for one charge: Speeding Police arrest offender Detected for traffic offence Steal MV Traffic Speeding Speeding
Underestimating offending To appear in court, an offender needs to have been apprehended and charged by the police, so court appearance data inherit all the limitations previously noted for police apprehension and arrest data. It is only in a small number of cases, such as matter prosecuted by agencies other than the police, that an offence may appear in the court records without having first appeared in police databases. However, in the majority of cases, offences not detected by police for the range of reasons previously mentioned will not be identifiable in court records. Moreover, court appearance data have the potential to further underestimate offending because not all police apprehensions proceed to court. For example: • • not all criminal apprehensions have sufficient evidence to be proven beyond reasonable doubt in court and so the matter is dropped at the prosecutorial stage some criminal apprehensions may be diverted to processing options other than court. This is particularly true in the case of juveniles, who, in most jurisdictions, can be dealt with either by way of a formal police caution or a family conference, without the need to bring the matter to court. In South Australia for example approximately 60 percent of apprehensions per year are dealt with either through a formal police caution or family conference, without the matter ever coming before the Youth Court. Conviction data, measured at the end point of the court process, provide an even smaller pool of cases because: • • some charges may be dropped or negotiated away as a result of a plea negotiation some cases may not result in a finding of guilt. Key elements of recidivism There is one added complexity inherent in the way the court organises its work that may result in underestimation of both appearances and convictions. This occurs when the same defendant is facing charges arising from more than one apprehension event that all are being processed through the court at roughly the same time. It is not uncommon, particularly in the case of recidivist offenders, for an individual to have several court cases being processed at the same time, but in different courts on different days and before different judicial officers. At some point, the decision may be made to consolidate all current files and charges into a single case. Hence, what may have started off as three distinct matters will, at the point of disposition and sentence, be combined into one single case. 27
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Research and Public Policy Series N
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