Static-2002 coding rules (2009) - Static-99

Category 5: General Criminality
and is sentenced in 2001. He commits an assault in 2004 and is sentenced in
2004.
Both assaults count as prior sentencing occasions because some of the index
sexual offence behaviour was committed in 2005, after he was sanctioned for the
previous offences. The offender chose to keep offending with the index offence
after being sanctioned in 2001, and again in 2004.
Example No. 2
John Johnson sexually offends against his daughter between 2000 and 2004 and
is convicted and sentenced in 2006. He commits an assault in 2001 and is
sentenced in 2001. He commits an assault in 2005 and is sentenced in 2005.
The 2001 sentencing occasion is a prior offence because he continued the index
sexual behaviour after being sanctioned for the 2001 offence. The 2005 assault
becomes part of an index cluster because even though he was sanctioned for the
assault before being sanctioned for the index sexual offence, the assault
occurred after the index sexual offence was committed. So the offender did not
choose to commit the index sexual offence after being sanctioned for the assault.
Example No. 3
Richard Jones sexually offends between 1976 and 1979. He commits a theft in
1988 and is sentenced in 1989. He commits a sexual offence in 2002. Due to
publicity for this offence, his victims from the 1970s come forward and he is
convicted and sentenced for the 2002 offence as well as the historical offences
from the 1970s.
In this example, the sex offences from the 1970s are part of the index cluster.
The theft in 1988 is a prior. Even though the theft occurred after the historical
offences, it still occurred and was sanctioned before the 2002 offences that
formed part of the index cluster.
Example No. 4
James Smith sexually offends between 1976 and 1979. He commits a theft in
1992 and is sentenced in 1995. In 2002 he is convicted for the offences in the
1970s.
Even though the two sentencing dates are almost a decade apart, they are
considered an index cluster because the offences for which the offender was
sentenced in 2002 were not committed after the offender was sanctioned in
1995.
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