Sentencing of offenders: Factors a
court considers
Statutes
Laws made by
parliament eg:
Criminal Law
Sentencing Act
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Section 10 of the Criminal Law Sentencing
Act [1988] sets out matters that a court
should have regard for and includes:
-The circumstances of the offences
-Other offences
-Personal circumstances of the victim[s]
(eg. Victim Impact statement )
-Any injury, loss or damage resulting
-Degree of contrition of offender
-If offender admitted guilt
-How co-operative the offender has been
-Adequate punishment
-Character, criminal history, age, means,
physical mental condition of the offender
-Rehabilitation of offender
-Probable affect on dependents of the
offender
-Any other relevant matter
-The deterrence component of the penalty
Section 11 Offenders may only be
imprisoned if they:
-Show a tendency towards violence to
others
-Likely to commit a serious offence if freed
-Have previously committed crimes for
which they could have been imprisoned
-The nature and seriousness of the crime
makes other penalties inappropriate
Sentencing Information
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The court may consider
- reports eg. medical, presentence
- references
- Information outlining injury or
damage suffered by the victim
of an offence.
- victim impact statements
- Other relevant information
Precedent
Sentences imposed in
previous similar
cases.
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A court may suspend a sentence
of imprisonment [s38] if good
reasons exist eg:
-Offender has a chance of
rehabilitation
-Offender a young first offender
-The nature of the offence
THIS IS STILL A SENTENCE OF
IMPRISONMENT LIKELY TO BE SERVED IF
THE OFFENDER FAILS TO COMPLY WITH
ANY CONDITIONS OF THE GOOD
BEHAVIOUR BOND OR COMMITS
ANOTHER OFFENCE
SENTENCE
Appeal Process: In certain circumstances a sentence can be reviewed by a higher court
South Australian Law Courts Education Program