1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 2008
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 07/02/2008
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COURTS Criminal courts A system of courts for the hearing of criminal matters exists in all Australian states and territories. Once charges are laid by police, the court will hear evidence by both prosecution and defence, and will make a decision as to whether or not the defendant is guilty. In cases where the defendant is found guilty, the court may also record a conviction and impose a penalty.The lowest level of criminal court is the Magistrates' Court or Court of Summary Jurisdiction. The majority of criminal cases are heard in these courts. Cases heard in Magistrates' Courts do not involve a jury and a magistrate determines the guilt or innocence of the defendant. This is known as a summary proceeding. More serious offences are dealt with by the higher court levels. All states and territories have a Supreme Court that can deal with any criminal matter. The larger jurisdictions also have an intermediate level of court, known as the District or County Court, that deals with the majority of serious offences. The Supreme Courts and Intermediate Courts are collectively referred to as the Higher Courts. All defendants that are dealt with by the Higher Courts have an automatic entitlement to a trial before a judge and jury. In some jurisdictions, the defendant may elect to have the matter heard before a judge alone. Offences that must be heard before a judge and jury are known as indictable offences. These include offences such as murder, manslaughter and drug importation as well as serious sexual offences, robberies and assaults. A defendant proven guilty in a criminal matter is entitled to appeal against the conviction or against the severity of penalty imposed. Under some circumstances, the prosecution is also entitled to appeal against the leniency of the penalty. The states and territories differ in the ways in which they deal with appeals. Some appeals from Magistrates' Courts may be heard before the Intermediate Courts. In other jurisdictions the Supreme Court may hear these appeals. In most jurisdictions an appeal court or Court of Criminal Appeal may be constituted to hear appeals from the Supreme or Intermediate Courts, with the highest court of appeal for all jurisdictions being the High Court of Australia. National criminal courts statistics The aim of the Criminal Courts collection, conducted by the ABS, is to provide comparable statistics for the states and territories and for Australia on the characteristics of defendants dealt with by the Criminal Courts. This includes information on the offences and sentences associated with those defendants. In order to ensure consistency between the states and territories, the statistics have been compiled according to national standards and classifications. However, some legislative and processing differences may limit the degree to which the statistics are comparable across the states and territories. Differences may also arise as a result of other factors, including refinements in data quality procedures and modifications in the systems used to obtain and compile the figures. Criminal courts defendant summary characteristics Diagram 13.15 presents summary characteristics of defendants dealt with by the Higher and Magistrates' Courts of Australia. 'Finalised defendant' refers to all charges against a person or organisation having been formally completed so that the defendant ceases to be an item of work to be dealt with by a particular court. Adjudication is a method of finalisation based on a judgement or decision by the court as to whether or not a defendant is guilty of the charge(s) laid against them. In 2005-06, 586,202 defendants were finalised in the Higher and Magistrates' Courts. Of these, 16,319 (3%) were heard in the Higher Courts and 569,883 (97%) were heard in the Magistrates' Courts. Of those defendants finalised in the Higher Courts, 14,163 (87%) were adjudicated, meaning that the court made a determination of the defendant's guilt or innocence of the offence(s) with which they were charged. The remaining 2,156 (13%) were finalised by non-adjudicated methods, in which there is no determination of the charges by the court. This includes outcomes such as all charges being withdrawn by the prosecution. Of those defendants finalised in the Magistrates' Courts 510,069 (90%) were adjudicated. The remaining 59,813 (10%) were finalised by non-adjudicated methods. Criminal courts finalisations For all court levels, New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria together accounted for 70% of finalisations nationally (28%, 25% and 17% respectively). Queensland accounted for the highest proportion of finalisations for the Higher Courts (37%) and New South Wales the highest proportion of finalisations in the Magistrates' Courts (28%) (table 13.16).
The majority of finalised defendants (88% or 14,282) in the Higher Courts during 2005-06 were men. More than 60% (8,755) of finalised male defendants were aged less than 35 years. Similarly, more than 60% (1,231) of the 2,021 female defendants finalised in the Higher Courts in 2005-06, were aged less than 35 years (graph 13.17). In the Magistrates' Courts during 2005-06, men comprised the majority of finalised defendants (79% or 441,406) while women comprised 21% (116,057). More than 57% (66,385) of women and 63% (278,085) of men were aged less than 35 years. Among men, those in the 20-24 age group comprised the largest group of Magistrates' Court defendants (100,725), while for women, those in the 35-44 age group were the largest group (24,790) (graphs 13.18). Adjudicated defendants - principal offence During 2005-06, defendants were more likely to be adjudicated in the Higher Courts for the following categories of principal offence: acts intended to cause injury (23%); illicit drug offences (17%); sexual assault and related offences (14%); robbery, extortion and related offences (11%); and unlawful entry with intent (10%) (table 13.19). Defendants adjudicated by the Higher Courts with a principal offence in one of these five categories accounted for 73% (10,375) of the total.
In contrast, the five categories of principal offence that accounted for the majority of adjudicated defendants in the Magistrates' Courts in 2005-06 were: road traffic and motor vehicle regulatory offences (44%); public order offences (10%); dangerous or negligent acts endangering persons (8%); acts intended to cause injury (7%) and theft and related offences (6%). Overall, approximately three out of every four defendants adjudicated in the Magistrates' Courts had one of these five categories of principal offence (table 13.20).When defendants with a principal offence related to traffic are excluded, the five categories of principal offence that accounted for the majority of defendants nationally in the Magistrates' Court were: public order offences (20%); acts intended to cause injury (16%); theft and related offences and offences against justice procedures, government security and government operations (both 13%); and illicit drug offences (12%).
In the Higher Courts, the most prevalent principal offence for both men and women was acts intended to cause injury (22% for men and 24% for women) (graph 13.21). Proportionally, more women were adjudicated for the principal offence of deception and related offences (14%) than were men (4%). In contrast, there were proportionally more men than women with a principal offence of sexual assault and related offences (15% and 2% respectively). The proportions of principal offence for defendants adjudicated were different across age groups in the Higher Courts. Defendants aged less than 25 years were more likely to be adjudicated for a principal offence of: acts intended to cause injury (26%); robbery, extortion and related offences (18%); and unlawful entry with intent/burglary, break and enter (13%). Those within the age group of 45 years and over were more likely to be adjudicated for: sexual assault and related offences (29%) and illicit drug offences (21%) (graph 13.22). 13.22 Defendants adjudicated in highercourts, selected principal offences by selected age groups(a)(b) - 2005-06 In the Magistrates' Court, the proportion of defendants with a principal offence of road traffic and motor vehicle regulatory offences tended to increase with age. This was the principal offence category for 40% of adjudicated defendants aged less than 25 years, increasing to 52% for defendants aged 45 years and over. Excluding traffic offences, defendants aged less than 25 years were more likely to be adjudicated for the principal offence of public order (27%) and theft and related offences (15%). Defendants aged between 26-44 years recorded higher proportions of adjudications than other age groups for acts intended to cause injury (18%) and illicit drug offences (13%). Those 45 years and over were more likely to be adjudicated for public order offences (17%) and acts intended to cause injury and offences against justice procedures, government security and government operations (both 16%) (graph 13.23). 13.23 Defendants adjudicated in Magistrates' Courts, selected principal offences by selected age groups(a)(b) - 2005-06 Adjudicated defendants by type of adjudication Nationally, 91% (12,914) of adjudicated defendants were found guilty or pleaded guilty in the Higher Courts, while the rate in the Magistrates' Courts was 96% (488,382). Acquittals accounted for 9% (1,249) of adjudicated defendants in the Higher Courts and 4% (21,687) for the Magistrates' Courts (table 13.24). Of the 2,809 adjudicated defendants that had a trial outcome (i.e an acquittal or a guilty verdict) in the Higher Courts, 56% (1,560) were found guilty while 44% (1,249) were acquitted. The majority of adjudicated defendants in the Higher Courts (80% or 11,354) and in the Magistrates' Courts (73% or 372,917) made a guilty plea. Defendants adjudicated in the Higher Courts were most likely to be acquitted for the principal offences of sexual assault and related offences (23%) and homicide and related offences (22%); whereas defendants adjudicated in the Magistrates' Courts were most likely to be acquitted for abduction and related offences (61%), homicide and related offences (42%) and sexual assault and related offences (23%).
Defendants proven guilty - principal sentence Defendants proven guilty in the Higher Courts were more likely to receive custodial orders (i.e. custody in a correctional institution or the community or fully suspended sentences) compared with those in the Magistrates' Courts (82% and 9% respectively) (table 13.25). Acts of a more serious nature are usually dealt with in a Higher Court and are, therefore, far more likely to incur a custodial sentence. Defendants proven guilty in the Higher Courts for homicide and related offences; robbery, extortion and related offences; and sexual assault and related offences incurred the highest proportion of custodial orders (99%, 92% and 89% respectively). Defendants proven guilty for road traffic and motor vehicle regulatory offences and public order offences in the Higher Courts incurred the highest proportion of non-custodial sentences (100% and 44% respectively). Defendants proven guilty in the Magistrates' Courts predominantly received non-custodial sentences for all principal offences except for robbery, extortion and related offences (54% custodial) and unlawful entry with intent/burglary, break and enter (53% custodial).
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