TASMANIA
DEFENDANTS FINALISED
During 2017–18, there were 14,283 defendants finalised in Tasmania’s criminal courts, an increase of 9% (1,238) on the previous year. They comprised 2% of all defendants finalised nationally.
The median age of defendants was 33 years. Three-quarters (75%) of all defendants were male. (Table 36)
The rate of defendants finalised was 3,077 per 100,000 persons (aged 10 years and over). (Table 54)
DEFENDANTS FINALISED, Tasmania, 2010–11 to 2017–18
![DEFENDANTS FINALISED, Tasmania, 2010–11 to 2017–18](/ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/a48d13c4aa9c50f2ca2582410016b847/Body/0.3B0!OpenElement&FieldElemFormat=gif)
Australian Bureau of Statistics
© Commonwealth of Australia 2019.
COURT LEVEL
During 2017–18, the majority (92%, 13,115) of defendants were finalised in the Magistrates' Courts.
From the previous year, the number of defendants finalised in each court level increased by:
- 14% (57) in the Higher Courts
- 10% (1,158) in the Magistrates’ Courts
- 2% (14) in the Children’s Courts. (Table 36)
PRINCIPAL OFFENCE
During 2017–18, over half of all defendants had one of the following principal offences:
- Traffic and vehicle regulatory offences (40%, 5,646), which increased by 5% (282)
- Acts intended to cause injury (16%, 2,250), which increased by 16% (308). (Table 36)
METHOD OF FINALISATION
During 2017–18, nine in ten defendants (12,742) had their matter(s) adjudicated. The majority of these defendants (11,140) were proven guilty, of which most (10,226) entered a guilty plea.
Around 6% of defendants had their matter(s) withdrawn by the prosecution or transferred to another court level. (Table 36)
PRINCIPAL SENTENCE AND SENTENCE LENGTH1
Of the 11,140 defendants proven guilty during 2017–18:
- 80% (8,880) were sentenced to a non-custodial order, most commonly a fine (6,039), with a median amount of $400
- One in five (2,264) received a custodial sentence (an increase of 3% from 2016–17)
- The median sentence length for custody in a correction institution2 was 4 months. (Tables 8, 36, 58d and 60)
Footnotes
1 Sentence length data for Tasmania include Magistrates’ and Children’s Courts only (see Explanatory Note 104).
2 Excluding life and indeterminate imprisonment (see Explanatory Note 48).