types of sanctions - 3.1.13

Question 1

what are the 3 types of sanctions?

Answer 1

• fines
• community corrections order (CCO)
• imprisonment

Question 2

what are fines?

Answer 2

• requires to offender to pay money to the state, the judge will decide if a fine is an appropriate sanction and they will determine the size of the fine.

Question 3

what might the judge consider when deciding the fine?

Answer 3

• the purpose the court wishes to achieve
• any aggravating/mitigating factors
• offenders ability to pay
• previous precendents set for the same offence

a fine will likely be imposed if case is heard at Mag court.

Question 4

what happens when fines are not paid?

Answer 4

offender ay go to prison or will have to do community work.

Question 5

how do fines achieve the purpose of sanctions?

Answer 5

punishment: penalises the offender
deterrence:
general - tells the community not to commit similar crimes
specific - deters the offender as they will not want another fine
denunciation: criticises their bad behaviour

Question 6

what is a CCO?

Answer 6

• supervised sentence served in the community that includes special conditions. it is a non-custodial sentence.
• this is imposed on any offence gthat is punishable by more than 5 penalty units. offender must consent.
• if offender fails to comply, CCO will be cancelled and will be charged with original offence

Question 7

what are core conditions of CCO?

Answer 7

• offender must not commit another offence
• offender must report to a specified CC centre within 2 days of order coming into force
• must report and receive visits from the officer
• must notify a change of address
• must not leave VIC without permission
• must comply with what the officer says

Question 8

what are additional details about CCOs?

Answer 8

• court must be satisfies the CCO is appropriate
• CCO can be imposed for up to 2 years in Mag court for 1 offence and no more than 5 years in any VIC courts
• can be used in conjunction with a fine or up to 1 year in prison.

Question 9

what are special conditions attached to CCOs?

Answer 9

required to attach at least one special condition
e.g. unpaid community work (<600 hours), treatment and rehabilitation program, curfew.

Question 10

how does CCOs achieve the purpose of sanctions?

Answer 10

rehabilitation - as CCOs offer rehabilitation and treatment programs

Question 11

what is the sanction imprisonment?

Answer 11

the removal of the offender from society for a period of time. does not have to be a prison can be a psychiatric centre ( offender still in custody).
if the sentence is longer than 2 years, there must be an opportunity for parole.
Mag court cannot impose imprisonment of 2 years for one offence or 5 years for more than one offence

Question 12

what is a cumulative sentence?

Answer 12

when the sentence is served one after the other.
e.g. 5 years SA, 2 years Arson = 7 years total.

Question 13

what is a concurrent sentence?

Answer 13

when the sentence is served at the same time as 1 or more other sentences
e.g. 5 years SA, 2 years Arson = 5 years total

Question 14

what is an indefinite sentence?

Answer 14

when there is no fixed end date