New Drug Snapshots Released
Today the Sentencing Advisory Council released five Sentencing Snapshots on trafficking in a non-commercial quantity of drugs, trafficking in a commercial quantity of drugs, trafficking in a large commercial quantity of drugs, cultivating narcotic plants, and cultivating a commercial quantity of narcotic plants.
The reports contain previously unpublished statistics on sentence outcomes in the higher courts of Victoria between 2002-03 and 2006-07, as well as the age and gender of people sentenced for each of the five offences.
These are the first Snapshots that the Council has released on drug offences.
Highlights of these Snapshots include:
- 622 people were sentenced for the principal offence of trafficking in a non-commercial quantity of drugs in the higher courts between 2002-03 and 2006-07.
- Almost eight in ten (79%) of the 189 people sentenced for the principal offence of trafficking in a commercial quantity of drugs received a period of imprisonment. The length of imprisonment terms ranged from one year and two months with a non-parole period of five months to nineteen years with a non-parole period of fifteen years.
- The vast majority (87%) of the 47 people sentenced over the five year period for trafficking in a large commercial quantity of drugs received a term of immediate imprisonment, while 9% received a mixed sentence of immediate imprisonment plus a fine.
- The most common sentence (46% of the 92 people) for the principle offence of cultivating narcotic plants was a wholly suspended sentence of imprisonment. The most common offence finalised in conjunction with of cultivating narcotic plants was theft (53.3% of all cases).
- There were 247 people sentenced for the principal offence of cultivating a commercial quantity of narcotic plants. Around four in ten (41%) of the people sentenced for cultivating a commercial quantity of narcotic plants received a period of imprisonment. The most common sentence of imprisonment was two years with a one year non-parole period.