SENTENCE OUTCOMES

The following information relates to sentence outcomes for defendants heard in the Children's Courts. Sentence refers to the principal sentence a defendant received (refer to Explanatory Notes paragraphs 46-48 for further information).


Custodial orders

Of the defendants convicted in the Children's Courts in 2008-09, 3,048 (or just over 9%) were sentenced to custodial orders. Defendants ordered to serve time in a correctional institution comprised 6% of all sentence outcomes, while defendants sentenced to custody in the community or fully suspended sentences accounted for 2% respectively.

Almost one third (32% or 341) of defendants convicted of robbery and extortion were issued with custodial orders. Other offences with relatively high proportions of custodial sentences were sexual assault (24% or 77), acts intended to cause injury (19% or 1,097) and unlawful entry with intent (19% or 744). The majority of these defendants were sentenced to custody in a correctional institution.

Custodial orders were issued to 11% of convicted male defendants and 4% of female defendants.

Defendants aged 19 years and over at the time of finalisation were the most likely to receive a sentence of custody in a correctional institution (9% or 85). This was similar for this age group in 2007-08 (8%). Those aged 10-12 years were the least likely (1% or 8) to receive a sentence of custody in a correctional institution, the same proportion as for 2007-08.

Convicted defendants in the Northern Territory were the most likely of any state or territory to be sentenced to custodial orders (24% or 152), followed by Tasmania (15% or 150) and New South Wales (15% or 1,199). Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory were the least likely to sentence convicted defendants to custodial orders (5% and 4% respectively).


Non-custodial orders

During 2008-09, 29,345 (90%) defendants convicted in the Children's Courts were sentenced to non-custodial orders. Defendants who had community supervision or work orders imposed comprised 26% of all sentence outcomes, those with monetary orders accounted for 23%, while those with good behaviour bonds comprised 22%. In 2007-08, monetary orders comprised 29% of all sentence outcomes, community supervision or work orders 24%, and good behaviour bonds 20%.

Monetary orders were more likely to be issued for defendants convicted of miscellaneous offences and traffic offences (67% and 55% respectively), than other sentences. Community supervision or work orders were the most common sentences for defendants convicted of robbery and extortion (51%), and sexual assault (48%).

Close to half (45%) of all sentences issued to convicted defendants in South Australia were for monetary orders, largely associated with the high proportion of traffic offences. This was also the most prevalent sentence in Victoria and Western Australia (35% and 32% respectively). Community supervision or work orders were the most prevalent sentences in Queensland (43%), while good behaviour bonds were most common in the Australian Capital Territory (46%), the Northern Territory (35%), Tasmania (27%) and New South Wales (25%).

Of the 25,915 convicted male defendants, nearly a third (27%) received a community supervision or work order, while almost a quarter (23%) received a monetary order. Sentences for convicted female defendants were similar to males: 23% received a monetary order and 23% received a community supervision or work order.

The proportion of convicted defendants receiving community supervision or work orders generally decreased with age, from 37% of 10-12 year old defendants to 14% of those aged 18 years and over. Older defendants were more likely to be sentenced to monetary orders; 43% of those aged 18 years and over received this order compared to 3% of 13 year olds.

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