Purposes of Sentencing

When a person is being sentenced for committing an offence in New South Wales, the Court is required to consider and apply the purposes of sentencing under the sentencing legislation. These principles are contained under Section 3A of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999. The purposes of sentencing factors can overlap and at times be in conflict with each other. The importance or weight of each of these factors will depend on the unique and individual circumstances of the matter being sentenced.  

Legislation:

Purposes of Sentencing Explained:

Punishment – Section 3A(a)

The sentencing principle of punishment involves the penalty for the offence being proportionate to the circumstances in which the offence was committed and the objective seriousness of the offence itself. This principle seeks to guard against the imposition of unduly lenient or unduly harsh sentences so that the penalty should neither exceed nor be less than the gravity of the crime committed having regard to the objective circumstances.  

Deterrence – Section 3A(b)

The principle of ‘deterrence’ involves discouraging the offender and the community from breaking the law because of the punishment imposed by the Courts on sentence.  Deterrence is an important purpose of sentencing however its weight will depend on the circumstances of the matter being sentenced. 

The principle of deterrence involves two aspects:

1. Specific or personal deterrence – Specific deterrence is the need to deter the individual offender from committing a similar offence in the future. Specific deterrence as a sentencing principle is most relevant on sentence in cases where the offender is a repeat offender or has a significant criminal history of past offending. 
2. General deterrence – General deterrence is the need to deter the general community from committing the offence or similar offences. General deterrence as a sentencing principle is particularly important with prevalent offences (for example drink driving, contravening an ADVO and speeding) to dissuade the community from engaging in unlawful behaviour due to the penalties imposed by the Courts. General deterrence will hold less weight in a sentence where a person has mental health or cognitive issues that contributed to the offence being committed.  

Community protection – Section 3A(c)

While protecting the community is an important purpose of sentencing, it does not mean that the sentence imposed will be beyond what is proportionate to the crime merely to protect the community from the risk of further offending. This sentencing principle interacts with the others such that giving substantial weight to specific and general deterrence will also serve to protect the community from the offender.  The weight given to this purpose of sentencing depends heavily on the circumstances of the matter being sentenced.

Rehabilitation – Section 3A(d)

The sentencing purpose of rehabilitation is aimed at the renunciation by the offender of his or her wrongdoing and the offender’s establishment or re-establishment as an honourable law-abiding citizen in our community. Rehabilitation is a cornerstone of sentencing discretion. The concept of rehabilitation involves ensuring that an offender will not reoffend by addressing any underlying issues that impact on the offender’s risk of reoffending such as drug and alcohol addiction. 

Making the offender accountable – Section 3A(e)

This purpose is directed at making the offender liable to be called to account for his or her actions. Making the offender accountable is an important purpose of sentencing. 

Denunciation – Section 3A(f)

Denunciation involves publicly condemning the offender’s conduct. The sentence imposed should convey the community’s condemnation of the person’s behaviour. This sentencing purpose is particularly relevant in matters where the offence violates fundamental moral standards of the community such as child sex offences.

Recognising the harm to victims – Section 3A(g)

The sentencing purpose of recognizing harm to the victims aims at identifying and accepting the harm the offender’s actions has caused to victims or to the community at large. The recognition of harm purpose of sentencing allows the sentencing Court to set out the content of a victim’s impact statement detailing how the offender’s actions have impacted their life when sentencing the offender. 

If you require legal advice or representation in any legal matter, please contact Armstrong Legal.