Armed robbery Case study for VELS. 2 Sentencing Advisory Council, 2015 1. What is sentencing? What laws guide a judge when sentencing? Photo: John French

Armed robbery

Case study for VELS

2 Sentencing Advisory Council, 2015

1. What is sentencing?

What laws guidea judge when sentencing?

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Chief Justice Marilyn Warren of the Supreme Court of Victoria


Who is responsible for sentencing?

In Australia, responsibility for sentencing is spread among

three groups

Parliament ~ makes the laws ~

Government~ puts laws into operation ~

Courts ~ interpret the laws ~

Creates offences and decides what the maximum penalties will be

Makes the rules that the courts must apply to cases

Sets up punishments for judges and magistrates to use

Apply the law within the framework set up by parliament

Set specific sentences for individual offenders

Correctional authorities (e.g. prisons) – control offenders after sentencing

Adult Parole Board – supervises offenders who are on parole


Where is sentencing law found?

• Sentencing Act 1991

• Children, Youth and Families Act 2005

• Common law – previous court judgments

• Various Acts and Regulations creating particular offences, for example:

– Crimes Act 1958 deals with a range of crimes, including injury offences

– Road Safety Act 1986 deals with a range of driving offences, including drink driving and drug driving


Types of sentences

Imprisonment

Drug treatment order

Community correction order

Fine

Adjourned undertaking

Most severe

Least severe


2. Sentencing theory

What must a judge consider when deciding what sentence to impose?

Source: Victorian Sentencing Manual, Judicial College of Victoria


Purposes of sentencing

These are the ONLY purposes for which sentences can be given

Sentencing Act 1991 s 5(1)

PURPOSES OF SENTENCING

Community protection

Deterrence

RehabilitationDenunciation

Just punishment


Principle of parsimony

Sentencing Act 1991 ss 5(3)(7)

Parsimony~ extreme care when imposing punishment ~

Where a choice of punishment exists,the judge should take care to choose

the least severe option that will achieve the purposes of sentencing

Example - If there is a choice between imposing a fineor a community correction order, a fine should be imposed

provided it meets the purposes of sentencing


Factors that must be considered

Sentencing Act 1991 s 5(2)

Aggravating ormitigating

factors

Maximum penalty& current sentencingpractices

Type of offence& how serious

Circumstancesof the offender

Victim

Relevant Actsof Parliament

& previouscourt decisions

Factors making the crime worse, intention, effects, method, motive,

weapons,role the offender

played

Prior offences,age, character,& mental state.

Alcohol, drug, orgambling addiction.

Personal crisis, guilty plea

Impact of crimeon victim (e.g.psychological

or physicaltrauma), materialor financial loss

Factors thatincrease orlessen the

seriousnessof the crime

Victim ImpactStatement

Factors that must be consideredwhen sentencing


Victim Impact Statements

• If a court finds a person guilty, a victim of the offence may make a Victim Impact Statement (VIS)

• A VIS contains details of any injury, loss, or damage suffered by the victim as a direct result of the offence

• A person who has made a VIS can request that it be read aloud during the sentencing hearing


How long is a sentence?

• Cumulative sentences for two or more crimes that run one after the other, e.g. two x five-year prison sentences served cumulatively = 10 years in prison

• Concurrent sentences for two or more crimes that run at the same time, e.g. two x five-year prison sentences served concurrently = five years in prison

• The total effective sentence (TES) (or head sentence) the total imprisonment sentence for all offences within a case, after orders making sentences cumulative or concurrent


Non-parole period

Parole is the prisoner’s release from prison before the end of his or her total possible prison sentence, subject to conditions (e.g. regular reporting to a parole officer)

A non-parole period:• is set by the court• is the part of the sentence that must be served in prison• must be set by the court for sentences of two years or

more• may or may not be set for sentences of one to two years• is not set if the sentence is less than one year


3. The crime and the time

What isarmed robbery?

What is themaximum penalty?


Armed robbery

A person is guilty of armed robbery if he or she commits any robbery and at the time has with him or her a firearm, imitation firearm, offensive weapon, explosive, or imitation explosive. A person guilty of armed robbery is guilty of an indictable offence

Maximum penalty

The maximum penalty for armed robbery is Level 2 imprisonment (maximum 25 years’ imprisonment) and/or a fine of 3,000 penalty units

Crimes Act 1958 s 75A(1)(2)


Armed robbery people sentenced


Armed robbery sentence types


Age & gender of people sentenced


Total effective sentence & non-parole period


4. The case

What are the facts of this case?


The offender

• Bradley Flint is 19 years old

• He was 18 at the time of the offence

• He has been found guilty of one count ofarmed robbery


The crime 1

• Bradley went into his local milkbar, took a can of soft drink from the fridge, and went to the counter

• He took a knife from his pocket, pointed it at the female shopkeeper, and said, ‘Money, quickly!’

• The shopkeeper took a $10 note from the cash register

• Bradley grabbed the $10 and ran from the store with the can of soft drink


The crime 2

• Bradley ran down a laneway near the store

• He hid the knife behind a wall

• He caught a bus home, using the $10 note to buy his bus ticket

• He was arrested soon after and taken to the local police station

• At the police station, he was charged with armed robbery


Factors for consideration

• Bradley was 18 when he committed the offence

• He pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity

• He has four prior juvenile convictions for theft,driving offences, and cannabis possession

• Bradley had an unstable home life. His parents separated when he was five years old

• He is a regular cannabis user, a habit he startedwhen he was 11 years old

• He left school after Year 11 and worked briefly as an apprentice bricklayer. He is now unemployed


5. The sentence

What sentence would you give?

Photo: Department of Justice & Regulation


You decide …

What sentence would you give?

• If imprisonment, what would be the total effective sentence and the non-parole period?

• If a community correction order, what would be the length of the order?

• If a fine, what would be the amount of the fine?


The maximum penalty

Armed robbery

• A person found guilty of armed robbery is liable to Level 2 imprisonment and/or fine

• Maximum 25 years and/or 3,000 penalty units

Crimes Act 1958 s 75A(1)(2)

Bradley Flint is guilty of one count of armed robbery and could receive:

• possible maximum imprisonment of 25 years

• possible maximum fine of 3,000 penalty units


What the judge decided

Bradley Flint’s case, County Court

• Two years community correction order

• Conditions– report to a community corrections worker for supervision

– attend treatment for alcohol and drug addiction

– complete 100 hours of unpaid community work


6. Conclusion

Effective sentencing achieves a balance between the interests of society, the concerns of the victim, and the best interests of the offender

The more information society has about crimes and the people involved in them, the more reasonable it is in its demands about sentencing

Photo: Department of Justice & Regulation

Documents

Armed robbery Case study for VELS. 2 Sentencing Advisory Council, 2015 1. What is sentencing? What laws guide a judge when sentencing? Photo: John French