Director of Public Prosecutions v Callander

[2018] VCC 698

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA Revised
(Not) Restricted
Suitable for Publication

AT LATROBE VALLEY
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR 17-00238

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

COLLEEN CALLANDER

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE SMALLWOOD
WHERE HELD:	Latrobe Valley
DATE OF HEARING:
DATE OF SENTENCE:	16 May 2018
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Callander
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2018] VCC 698

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:
Catchwords:
Legislation Cited:
Cases Cited:
Sentence:

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Accused	Mr R Robertson
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Ms J McDonnell

HIS HONOUR:

1Colleen Callander, you have pleaded guilty to a settled indictment which involved one charge of aggravated burglary and an uplifted summary matter of assault with a weapon.  Those crimes carry maximum penalties of 25 years and two years respectively.

2You are 51 years of age.  You pleaded guilty, as I have said, to a settled indictment and you must get the benefit of that plea.  In the overall circumstances, I think there is very little in the way of remorse, but clearly you must get the utilitarian benefit.

3Firstly, pursuant to s.464(ZF) of the Crimes Act, I make an order that you provide a saliva sample for DNA purposes. That order having been made, I must advise you that should you refuse to provide such a sample, police may use reasonable force to take it from you. That order is made and handed down.

4In this particular situation, great endeavours have been made in an attempt to provide appropriate support for you upon your release from custody.  Efforts have been made by corrections, by your lawyers, and others, to have accommodation because I am very concerned, as I indicated, that in a community corrections order you would simply return home with the risk of further violence and therefore detriment not only to yourself but to your neighbours as well.

5But in those circumstances that I indicated, even though the Crown conceded that a combination sentence was open, that it would be a sentence which involved a non-parole period and the Parole Board can look after your release with protection for both yourself and the community.

6I take into account that there has been a significant delay in this matter being resolved which is not due to your fault, and I take into account that you do have prior convictions which relate to interpersonal violence and threats on occasion.

7There are periods of time where there have been no prior convictions, and that gives me some hope for the prospects of your ultimate rehabilitation.

8The risk of you re-offending in the environment from which you have basically been incarcerated I think has to be regarded as certainly moderate.

9The circumstances of the offending I can describe in fairly short compass.  You were residing at a unit in Traralgon.  There were next door neighbours, and there had been ongoing disputes between you and them.  On 23 September 2015, you were yelling and carrying on towards them - that is, towards the occupants.  I accept that you were intoxicated and had taken medications.

10Phone calls were made, and in the ultimate - I do not have to go through all the detail.  The Crown opening is on file, or is an exhibit.

11Just before 8 o'clock, you walked past a window of their unit and went in.  You slammed open the front door, entered the unit, and you were holding a knife behind your back.  As you entered into the lounge room, you raised it high in front of you.  That gives rise to the charge of aggravated burglary.

12You were yelling at the victim to stop saying things about you down the street.  You held the knife up and moved it in a stabbing motion while making various threats to James Willoughby.  You were calling him a "cunt", and that you would "cut him", and that if he said things about her downtown you would stab him in the head and kill him.

13You approached him at one stage and held the knife about ten centimetres or so from his face.  You grabbed the doona that he was holding up over himself.  Another person in the house stood up as you held the knife and tried to calm it all down, and you verbally abused him.  That gives rise to the summary offence of assault with a weapon.

14Police attended at the premises and you were arrested, and basically denied having any role in any of this, and gave an alibi that was clearly incorrect.

15I am fully aware of the difficulties that you face in life, and the circumstances surrounding the lead-up to all this.  I am not going to buy into "who did what to who" over the years between neighbours, but since this offending has occurred, you have been gaoled for 170 days for other matters, as I understand it, relating:  (1) to your mother, but; (2), to these neighbours as well.  They are from subsequent altercations, and I clearly take that time into account in a Renzella way.

16I have before me victim impact statements which clearly point out why invading a person's home with a knife and threatening with that knife and terrifying them is a criminal offence.  I take those victim impact statements into account.

17I take into account very much totality, in the sense that I have described.  You have now been in custody on these matters alone for a period of, on my calculation, 194 days, and that will be declared as time served.

18In so far as your personal circumstances are concerned, again, I direct that the reports remain on file - the reports from La Trobe Valley Health from Mr McKinnin - and you have also completed a number of certificates whilst you have been in gaol.

19The report from La Trobe Health indicates the degree of difficulties that you have had in life, and says that you had "a very busy and eventful life".  Truer words could not be spoken.

20The report of Mr McKinnin, I think, outlines your history.  He says you are a
51-year-old woman who endured a distressing childhood, early disintegration of your family of origin, emotional neglect, emotional abuse, abandonment, unstable care and living arrangements.

21I take into account decisions such as Bugmy, and when a child is brought up in that way, they very rarely make happy adults.  He has described you as now being:

"essentially bereft of any stable and supportive family member or close friend."

22In the materials, he indicates that you had been living a reclusive lifestyle until these problems began to arise, with your, at the time of this offending, current neighbours.  He points out that you would need anger management and various other courses to deal with what I accept is a post-traumatic stress disorder.  That obviously makes it difficult for you to make judgments.  It causes you to react aggressively in situations where you feel under threat, and I take all those matters into account.

23He points out that you will need a number of sessions with psychologists.  It is clear that you were the victim yourself of a very serious assault indeed some years ago, and he is also concerned that the longer you spend in gaol, the greater the risk of deterioration in your mental and physical situation.  I accept that.  He said:

"Ms Callander is highly socially isolated and without personal supports, and her lack of friends or family able or willing to visit her in prison only serves to amplify her loneliness and sense of social abandonment and marginalisation."

24He said:

"I would hope that that alternative accommodation can be arranged for Ms Callander, otherwise it's almost 'a setup' for her to return into the same unit and further conflict appears almost inevitable."

25In one sense, it presents an almost impossible sentencing situation.  It is clearly a serious example of aggravated burglary.  It is confrontational, a weapon was used, and the threatened assault was made with that weapon.  You clearly have worked hard for a large portion of your life, and it is sad, in a way, that it has come to this in the end.

26But as I have indicated, I was certainly prepared to place you on a community corrections order as long as you did not pose a threat to yourself or the victims in this matter, and the victims have been the same victims as you just spent nearly six months in gaol for over the last couple of years.

27As I said, rehabilitation is not extinguished, but not particularly hopeful.  Re-offending in that scenario, would be, as Mr McKinnin says, unavoidable.

28I will be sending all these materials to the Adult Parole Board, and you will be eligible for parole very soon, and it is a matter for them to then endeavour to put into place a release which, as I say, helps you rehabilitate and does not put others at risk.

29Accordingly, in all the circumstances, on the charge of aggravated burglary,
18 months.

30Charge of assault with a weapon, three months, concurrent, which gives a head sentence of 18 months.

31In all the circumstances, and because I think it is important that you be released as soon as possible into a safe environment, I fix a minimum term of eight months you must serve before becoming eligible for parole, and I direct that 194 days be reckoned as having been served under this sentence.

32There is an element of mercy involved in all this, bearing in mind the seriousness of the offence, but if you can be recovered and remain in the community as a law-abiding and safe person, it is to the benefit of everybody.

33Pursuant to s.6AAA of the Sentencing Act, I say that but for your plea of guilty, you would have been sentenced to be imprisoned for a period of two and a half years with a minimum term of one-and-a-half years.

34There are no other orders I have to make?

35MS MCDONNELL:  No, Your Honour.

36HIS HONOUR:  Nothing else you need, Mr Robertson?

37MR ROBERTSON:  No, Your Honour.

38HIS HONOUR:  All right.  Thank you for that.

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