If you have been charged with one or more criminal offences in the State of WA, it is important to understand the potential outcomes if you plead or are found guilty of that charge.
Maximum Penalty
The starting point for penalty for any criminal offence is the Act under which you have been charged. This information will be found within your Statement of Material Facts, or Prosecution Notice, which will be provided to you by the Police when or after you are charged.
Examples of what to look for include:
- Criminal Code Act 1913
- Misuse of Drugs Act 1981
- Road Traffic Act 1974
Your charge will then arise under a specific section, or subsection, which will also be noted within the Act.
For example, if you have been charged with Common Assault, your prosecution notice will state that you have been charged under section 313 of the Criminal Code, which states:
- Common assault
(1) Any person who unlawfully assaults another is guilty of a simple offence and is liable —
(a) if the offence is committed in circumstances of aggravation or in circumstances of racial aggravation, to imprisonment for 3 years and a fine of $36 000; or
(b) in any other case, to imprisonment for 18 months and a fine of $18 000.
(2) A prosecution for an offence under subsection (1) may be commenced at any time.
The maximum penalty for a charge of this offence without aggravating circumstances is therefore imprisonment for 18 months or a fine of $18,000.
However, this does not mean that you will receive the maximum penalty. The Court takes into account a number of other factors, in sentencing. This is simply the most that could be imposed for a charge of this nature.
Range of penalties
In WA, the range of penalties for criminal offences is as follows:
- No penalty
- This is imposed where the charge is so frivolous or minor that there is little public or personal deterrence cause to impose any further penalty.
- This would be the mere recording of a conviction.
- Charges of this nature would likely attract a Spent Conviction Order application at the time of conviction.
- Fine
- A monetary penalty is viewed as the lowest form of penalty, as it requires no further ‘service’ to the community or monitoring by the Department of Communities etc.
- A monetary penalty is the most common form of penalty ordered in the Magistrates Court.
- The penalty then becomes a debt payable to the Court.
- Sometimes, an order for restitution is included within a financial penalty imposed by the Court.
- Community Based Order (CBO)
- A CBO is a non-custodial sentence imposed by a court.
- It allows offenders to serve their sentence in the community under specific conditions, such as attending programs, community service, or regular reporting to a supervisor.
- CBOs aim to rehabilitate offenders while ensuring public safety and reducing reliance on imprisonment.
- CBOs may also include conditions for reporting, counselling, community service or drug testing, usually at the discretion of the Department of Communities.
- Intensive Supervision Order
- An Intensive Supervision Order (ISO) is a type of community-based sentence for serious offenders.
- It involves strict monitoring and support, requiring individuals to comply with specific conditions, such as regular check-ins, rehabilitation programs, and restrictions on movement.
- ISOs aim to balance punishment with rehabilitation, providing offenders with the opportunity to reintegrate into the community while ensuring public safety.
- They are typically used for offenders who might otherwise be sentenced to prison but are considered suitable for intensive supervision.
- Imprisonment
- Imprisonment is a penalty for serious offenses, involving confinement in a correctional facility.
- Immediate imprisonment means the offender serves their sentence right away, beginning their time in custody immediately after sentencing.
- Suspended imprisonment, on the other hand, allows the court to impose a prison sentence that is not executed immediately. The offender may remain in the community under certain conditions, and the sentence is only activated if they breach those conditions or commit another offense within a specified period. This option aims to provide a chance for rehabilitation while maintaining a deterrent.
Conclusion
For more information on the criteria and principles that the Court will consider in arriving at a sentence to impose for a criminal conviction, see our previous article #here.
Our office can assist you from first contact with the Police through to sentencing and can guide you through the entire process with a view to ensuring the best possible outcome for you.