Contents and summary - Judicial Commission of New South Wales

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Sentencing Robbery Offenders since the Henry Guideline Judgment Part 3 The research study: an analysis and discussion of remarks on sentence The analysis of sentencing patterns in the higher courts presented in Part 2 showed no significant differences in sentencing patterns from one three-year period (12 May 1999 to 11 May 2002) to the next three-year period (12 May 2002 to 11 May 2005). This finding suggests that it is possible to generalise the findings of the main study, which focused only on sentences imposed during the first three-year period (12 May 1999 to 11 May 2002). The findings in this section are based on the analyses of 352 remarks on sentence for cases where the offender was convicted of robbery under s 97 of the Crimes Act 1900. The offences The majority of offences (88.6%) related to s 97(1), and within that section, the most common offence was robbery being armed with an offensive weapon or instrument (50.3%), followed by robbery in company (30.7%). In 61.9% of cases the judge was required to sentence the offender for multiple offences and/or for further offences that were placed on a Form 1. Plea and assistance to authorities The overwhelming majority of offenders (95.2%) pleaded guilty. Most of these offenders (74.3%) entered their plea at the earliest opportunity. The proportion of offenders who pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity increased significantly after the guideline judgment in R v Thomson & Houlton, viii from 64.3% before it to 82.0% after it. Where the discount for a guilty plea was quantified by the sentencing judge, the discount ranged from 5% to 40%, with a median of 25%. Almost 2 in 10 offenders (18.5%) provided assistance to authorities. Where the discount for assistance to authorities was quantified, the discount ranged from 8.3% to 50%, with a median of 25%. Objective facts of the offence The majority of robberies in this study targeted commercial property (68.3%). Individuals were targeted in 31.7% of cases. The most common locations where robberies occurred were retail stores (24.3%) and service stations (17.1%), followed by robberies in the street or public thoroughfares (12.1%), hotel/bottle shops (7.8%), financial institutions (5.8%), residential premises (5.5%) and chemists (4.3%). The majority (63.1%) of robberies involved multiple offenders. The role of offenders in this study was varied. Most offenders played a primary role as principals or co-principals in the commission of the offence (83.5%). Only 28 robberies (8.0%) could be described as well planned. Approximately two-thirds of offenders (63.6%) were armed with a weapon. The most common weapon used to commit the armed robberies was a knife or other cutting instrument (57.3%), followed by firearms (21.7%) and syringes (16.0%). viii (2000) 49 NSWLR 383. xx
Summary of findings Almost two-thirds of robberies involved threats of violence (63.3%) as opposed to actual violence (36.7%). Actual violence was more likely to occur in robberies where there were multiple offenders (43.5% compared with 18.5% of lone offenders) or by younger offenders (median age = 21 years compared with 23 years for robberies involving threatened violence). Subjective circumstances of the offender Most offenders (89.8%) were male and were aged from 14 to 58 years with a median of 22 years. Female robbers were in a narrower age group, from 18 to 36 years with a median of 22.5 years. The vast majority of offenders (83.5%) had a criminal record. Just over a quarter of offenders (27.6%) had priors for a robbery offence under ss 94–98 and over half (56.0%) had priors for offences other than robbery. Less than half of the offenders (44.9%) had previously served a term of imprisonment imposed in an adult court. Around one-fifth of offenders (19.0%) had previously served a term of imprisonment for a robbery offence under ss 94–98. Most offenders (61.6%) were on unconditional liberty at the time of committing the offence. Fifty-four offenders (15.3%) were on parole; 54 offenders (15.3%) were on a bond, probation, community service order or on a Drug Court program; 3 offenders (0.9%) were serving a term of periodic detention; and 21 offenders (6.0%) were on bail. Another 3 offenders (0.9%) were escapees at the time of committing the offence. The vast majority of offenders (83.5%) had a history of drug and/or alcohol use/abuse. Eight in 10 offenders (79.6%) had a history of drug use/abuse and almost one-third of offenders (32.7%) a history of alcohol use/abuse. Three-quarters of offenders (75.4%) were addicted to alcohol and/or drugs at the time of the offence. Seven in 10 offenders (69.5%) had an addiction to drugs and 13.3% were addicted to alcohol. Three in 10 offenders (30.4%) were under the influence of drugs (22.4%) or alcohol (12.5%) at the time of committing the offence. Issues relating to the offender’s mental health were raised in a third of cases (33.0%). Sentencing The majority of offenders (85.2%) sentenced for a robbery offence under s 97 received a full-time custodial sentence. These sentences ranged from 12 months to 15 years, with a median term of sentence of 4 years. The median sentence is at the lower limit of the Henry range of 4–5 years. Almost all cases attracted a finding of special circumstances (94.0%). A finding of exceptional circumstances resulted in 14.8% of offenders receiving a noncustodial sentence. Apart from the need for a lengthy period of supervision in the community after release from prison, the main factors which resulted in a finding of either special or exceptional circumstances were good prospects of rehabilitation, young age and lack of or insignificant criminal record. xxi
Page 3 and 4: Sentencing Robbery Offenders since
Page 5 and 6: Contents Table of cases . . . . . .
Page 7: Contents 3.6.9 Addictions generally
Page 26: Sentencing Robbery Offenders since

Contents and summary - Judicial Commission of New South Wales

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