SENTENCE OUTCOMES
The majority (96% or 32,328) of defendants who were charged in the Children's Courts during 2006-07 were proven guilty. Almost all defendants with the following principal offences were proven guilty: dangerous or negligent acts endangering persons (99%), road traffic offences, and weapons and explosives offences (both 98%).
The following information relates to sentence outcomes for defendants proven guilty. Defendants are referred to as 'convicted' where they were proven guilty of at least one of the final charges laid against them.
In 2006-07, most defendants (92% or 29,802) convicted in the Children's Courts received a non-custodial principal sentence. Non-custodial sentences include orders such as fines, good behaviour bonds and community supervision or work orders. The remaining convicted defendants were issued custodial orders.
Custodial orders
Of the defendants convicted in the Children's Courts, 2,451 (8%) were sentenced to custodial orders. Defendants ordered to serve time in a correctional institution comprised 5% of all sentence outcomes, while defendants issued with fully suspended sentences and those sentenced to custody in the community accounted for 1% each.
One third (33% or 338) of defendants convicted of robbery were issued with custodial orders. Other offences with relatively high proportions of custodial sentences were sexual assault (23% or 60), unlawful entry with intent (19% or 689) and acts intended to cause injury (16% or 672). The majority of these defendants were sentenced to custody in a correctional institution.
DEFENDANTS PROVEN GUILTY, Custodial sentences by selected principal offence
Convicted defendants in the Northern Territory were the most likely of any state or territory to be sentenced to custodial orders (29% or 123), followed by Tasmania (16% or 115) and New South Wales (14% or 893). Victoria and Queensland were the least likely to sentence convicted defendants to custodial orders (4% and 5% of all convicted defendants in those states respectively).
Non-custodial orders
Of the defendants convicted in the Children's Courts, 29,802 (92%) were sentenced to non-custodial orders. Defendants who had monetary orders imposed comprised 36% of all sentence outcomes, while defendants issued with community supervision or work orders accounted for 21% and those given good behaviour bonds 19%.
Monetary orders were more likely to be issued for defendants convicted of deception, or dangerous or negligent acts (92% and 70% respectively), than other sentences. Community supervision or work orders were the most common sentences for defendants convicted of unlawful entry with intent (46%), and acts intended to cause injury (35%).
DEFENDANTS PROVEN GUILTY, Selected non-custodial sentences by selected principal offence
In 2006-07, 67% (7,413) of convicted defendants in Victoria were sentenced with a monetary order, though this was largely due to the high number of fare evasions (see
Explanatory Notes paragraph 57). Excluding defendants charged with fare evasion, the proportion sentenced with a monetary order was 32%. Community supervision or work orders were the most prevalent sentences in Queensland (42% of all sentences) and the Australian Capital Territory (38%), while good behaviour bonds were most common in New South Wales (28%). Half (50%) of all sentences issued to convicted defendants in South Australia were monetary orders.
DEFENDANTS PROVEN GUILTY, Selected non-custodial sentences by states and territories
Sex
Of the 24,803 convicted male defendants, a third (33%) received a monetary order, while 23% received a community supervision or work order. Custodial orders were issued to 9% of male defendants. Convicted female defendants were more likely than males to receive a monetary order (46% compared with 33%). Custodial orders were imposed on 3% of all female defendants.
Age
The sentence issued to defendants convicted in the Children's Courts differed with the age of the defendant. Defendants aged 15 years at the time of finalisation were the most likely to receive a sentence of custody in a correctional institution (7% or 289), while those aged 10 to 12 years were the least likely (3% or 20).
DEFENDANTS PROVEN GUILTY, Selected non-custodial sentences by age
The proportion of convicted defendants receiving community supervision or work orders generally decreased with age, from 42% of 13 year old defendants to 8% of those aged 18 years or more. Older defendants were more likely to be sentenced with monetary orders; 64% of those aged 18 years and over received this order compared to 3% of 13 year olds.
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