NCJ Number
206195
Date Published
2002
Length
134 pages
Annotation
This study identifies factors that have influenced sentencing trends for violent offenders in Australia.
Abstract
Analyses of data from each Australian State and the Northern Territory address the trends in the sentencing of violent offenders, interpretations of these trends, the factors that drive the trends, any relationship between the incidence of violent crime and the penalties imposed, specific factors that relate to Indigenous offenders, and the policy and research implications of the findings. Data were obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Australian Institute of Criminology, and researchers from each of the jurisdictions. Prison census data indicate that the proportion of violent inmates in the sentenced prisoner population has increased. There is evidence of a trend toward the increased use of custodial sentences and the decreased use of noncustodial sentences for violent offenses. There has been an increase in the median actual estimated sentence lengths for violent offenders; and there are similarities in the broad sentencing trends that relate to Indigenous and non-Indigenous violent offenders. In all jurisdictions the sentencing of violent offenders is becoming tougher. It is difficult to draw firm conclusions about the relationship between trends in the levels of recorded violent crime and trends in sentencing outcomes; however, there is no evidence that as penalties for violent offenses have increased in severity there is any corresponding decrease in the incidence of violent crime. Neither is there evidence that the incidence of violent crime was any greater during periods when less severe penalties were imposed. Policy and research implications of these findings are discussed, and recommendations are offered. Extensive tables and figures and 128 references