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Fix all sentences, not just ‘suspendeds’, says Council

17 April 2008

The Sentencing Advisory Council today released the final report in a series that recommends significant reforms to most sanctions in Victoria’s sentencing hierarchy.

The report follows on from the Council’s 2006 report which recommended phasing out suspended sentences and introducing a range of new sentencing orders.

Council Chair, Professor Arie Freiberg, said, “The Council still believes that suspended sentences are flawed and have been over-used in the past. However, it became increasingly evident during this review that the overuse was due to problems with the form and operation of other intermediate sentencing orders.”

“In our view it is not appropriate for us to continue to call for the total removal of suspended sentences from the sentencing hierarchy until the other intermediate orders are reformed.”

Today’s report recommends changes to Intensive Correction Orders, Home Detention, and Community-based Orders. It also recommends the abolition of Combined Custody and Treatment Orders and the introduction of two new orders — an Intensive Correction Order (Drug and Alcohol) and a Community-based Order (Young Adult Offenders). Once these reforms are implemented and sufficient time has elapsed to properly evaluate their impact, the report recommends that the power to suspend a prison sentence in Victoria should then be reviewed.

“The overall package we are presenting will provide the courts with a more credible, flexible and coherent range of sentencing orders, so they will not need to be so reliant on suspended sentences in the future.”

The Council was influenced in its deliberations by recent data that shows that the higher courts and Magistrates’ Court have begun to reduce their use of suspended sentences. This reduction began even before the legislative reforms implemented in late 2006 that restricted the use of suspended sentences for serious violent and sexual offences.

“While we know our recommendation to restrict the use of suspended sentences did not cause this decline, the Council was encouraged by the knowledge that this reform will help the downward trend to accelerate in coming years.”

“We believe the total package the Council has proposed is the only responsible transitional path to a new sentencing structure for Victoria,” said Professor Freiberg.