The Penalties and Sentences (Serious Violent Offences) Amendment Bill 1997
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ELECTRONIC VERSION THE PENALTIES AND SENTENCES (SERIOUS VIOLENT OFFENCES) AMENDMENT BILL 1997 LEGISLATION BULLETIN NO 4/97 KAREN SAMPFORD QUEENSLAND PARLIAMENTARY LIBRARY Publications and Resources Section BRISBANE March 1997 ISSN 1324-860X ISBN 0 7242 7350 1 This Legislation Bulletin was prepared to assist Members in their consideration of the Bill in the Queensland Legislative Assembly. It should not be considered as a complete guide to the legislation and does not constitute legal advice. The Bulletin reflects the legislation as introduced. The Queensland Legislation Annotations, prepared by the Office of the Queensland Parliamentary Counsel, or the Bills Update, produced by the Table Office of the Queensland Parliament, should be consulted to determine whether the Bill has been enacted and if so, whether the legislation as enacted reflects amendments in Committee. Readers are also directed to the relevant Alert Digest of the Scrutiny of Legislation Committee of the Queensland Parliament. © Queensland Parliamentary Library, 1997 Copyright protects this publication. Except for purposes permitted by the Copyright Act 1968, reproduction by whatever means is prohibited, other than by Members of the Queensland Parliament in the course of their official duties, without the prior written permission of the Parliamentary Librarian, Queensland Parliamentary Library. Inquiries should be addressed to: Director, Publications & Resources, Queensland Parliamentary Library, Parliament House, George Street, Brisbane. Director: Ms Mary Seefried. (Tel: 3406 7116) CONTENTS 1. PURPOSE........................................................................................................ 1 2. OBJECTIVES OF THE PENALTIES AND SENTENCES ACT 1992......... 2 3. DEFINITIONS................................................................................................. 4 4. SENTENCING GUIDELINES........................................................................ 5 4.1 QUEENSLAND’S PENALTIES AND SENTENCES ACT 1992 ........................ 6 4.1.1 General Principles................................................................................ 6 4.1.2 Sentencing Guidelines For Offenders Under 25 Years .......................... 7 4.1.3 Imprisonment - Court’s Reasons To Be Stated .................................... 8 4.1.4 Case Law ............................................................................................ 8 4.2 THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS ............................................................. 11 4.2.1 Omitted Principles - Repeal of Sections 9(3) and 9(4) ........................ 11 4.2.2 Proposed New Principles - New Sections 9(3) and 9(4) ..................... 12 4.3 A COMPARATIVE SURVEY OF LEGISLATIVE PROVISIONS ................... 13 4.3.1 Commonwealth ................................................................................. 13 4.3.2 New South Wales.............................................................................. 14 4.3.3 Victoria ............................................................................................. 14 4.3.4 South Australia.................................................................................. 15 4.3.5 Western Australia .............................................................................. 16 4.3.6 Australian Capital Territory ............................................................... 16 4.3.7 Northern Territory............................................................................. 16 5. THE RANGE OF SENTENCING OPTIONS .............................................. 18 5.1 SENTENCING OPTIONS UNDER THE PENALTIES AND SENTENCES ACT 19 5.1.1 Restitution and Compensation ........................................................... 19 5.1.2 Fines.................................................................................................. 20 5.1.3 Fine Option Orders............................................................................ 20 5.1.4 Community Based Orders.................................................................. 21 5.1.5 Suspended Sentences......................................................................... 22 5.1.6 Imprisonment .................................................................................... 25 5.1.7 Indefinite Sentences........................................................................... 25 6. CUMULATIVE SENTENCES...................................................................... 27 6.1. CONCURRENT VERSUS CUMULATIVE SENTENCES - THE CURRENT POSITION ...................................................................... 27 6.2 THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS ............................................................. 28 6.3 THE PRINCIPLE OF TOTALITY .............................................................. 28 6.4 IMPOSING CUMULATIVE SENTENCES IN SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES .... 30 6.4.1 Offences Committed While in Custody............................................... 30 6.4.2 Other Situations................................................................................. 31 6.5 COMMENTS ON CUMULATIVE SENTENCING ......................................... 32 6.6 THE SPECIAL CASE OF LIFE IMPRISONMENT ....................................... 35 7. MINIMUM TERMS AND ELIGIBILITY FOR PAROLE ......................... 36 7.1 THE CURRENT POSITION....................................................................... 36 7.2 THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS ............................................................. 38 7.2.1 Multiple Murders and Repeat Murders............................................... 38 7.2.2 Other Life Sentenced Prisoners .......................................................... 39 7.2.3 Serious Violent Offences.................................................................... 39 7.2.4 Other Cases ....................................................................................... 39 7.2.5 A Comparative Survey....................................................................... 39 8. REMISSIONS................................................................................................ 42 BIBLIOGRAPHY.............................................................................................. 45 APPENDIX A..................................................................................................... 49 APPENDIX B..................................................................................................... 51 APPENDIX C..................................................................................................... 53 APPENDIX D..................................................................................................... 55 APPENDIX E..................................................................................................... 57 The Penalties and Sentences (Serious Violent Offences) Amendment Bill 1997 Page 1 DATE OF INTRODUCTION: 19 March 1997 PORTFOLIO: Attorney-General and Justice HANSARD REFERENCE Daily Hansard, 19 March 1997, SECOND READING: pp 595-601. 1. PURPOSE The Penalties and Sentences (Serious Violent Offences) Amendment Bill 1997 (Qld) (the amending Bill) makes amendments to the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992, the Corrective Services Act 1988 and the Criminal Code (1899). The main purposes of the Bill are: · to amend the purposes section of the Penalties and Sentences Act; · to amend the sentencing guidelines contained in s 9 of the Penalties and Sentences Act; · to make separate provision for the punishment of serious violent offenders, for example, by providing · that the sentencing principle that imprisonment should be a sentence of last resort (s 9(2)(a) of the Penalties and Sentences Act) is not to apply where an offender is sentenced for any offence that involves use, counselling or procuring use of, or attempting or conspiring to use, violence against another person or which results in physical harm, · that prisoners sentenced to a term of imprisonment for a serious violent offence are not to be eligible for parole until they have served either 80% of their sentence or 15 years, whichever is the lesser, and Page 2 The Penalties and Sentences (Serious Violent Offences) Amendment Bill 1997 · that, where an offender is convicted of a serious violent offence committed while the offender was serving a sentence of imprisonment, on parole, or at large after having escaped from custody, any sentence of imprisonment imposed for the serious violent offence must be served cumulatively with any other sentence of imprisonment the offender must serve; · to amend the guidelines contained in s 147 of the Penalties and Sentences Act which govern when an offender is to serve the whole of an suspended sentence, and · to reform evidentiary provisions governing indefinite sentences contained in Part 10 of the Penalties and Sentences Act. The Explanatory Notes to the Bill state that the proposed amendments give effect to the Coalition’s policy on serious violent offences.1 A copy of this policy is reproduced as Appendix A to this Legislation Bulletin. This Bulletin examines several of the key provisions contained in the Penalties and Sentences (Serious Violent Offences) Amendment Bill 1997. Section 2 looks at proposed amendments to the purposes section (s 3) of the Penalties and Sentences Act. Section 3 explains what is meant by serious violent offences for the purposes of the legislation. Section 4 of the Bulletin looks at proposed changes to the sentencing guidelines currently contained in the Penalties and Sentences Act and, in particular, at the