Director of Public Prosecutions v Couzens

[2019] VCC 335

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

AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR 18-00152
CR 18-00153

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

JESSE COUZENS
DEBRA HOBBS

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE MULLALY
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	12 February 2019
DATE OF SENTENCE:	19 March 2019
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Couzens & Anor
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2019] VCC 335

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Mr D. Brown	Office of Public Prosecutions
For Accused Couzens	Mr A. Imrie	Stary Norton Halphen
For Accused Hobbs	Mr M. Brugman	Criminal Lawyers Geelong

HIS HONOUR: 

1Ms Hobbs and Mr Couzens, you can remain seated for the time being.  This will take some time.  Over the two days of 8 and 9 March 2017 you, Ms Hobbs and you, Mr Couzens engaged in frightening and at times violent criminal conduct.  The circumstances were unusual and at times, approached the bizarre but for the 73 year old victim, it was a difficult and frightening experience for him.  At the time you, Ms Hobbs lived at a unit at 179 Sparks Road, Norlane.  You, Mr Couzens lived in the same block of units.  It came to be, you spent time together although you, Ms Hobbs were 43 at the time and you, Mr Couzens were just 18.  Unfortunately you both smoked cannabis regularly at the time that you met.

2The victim was 73 and lived in Corio.  He suffered from significant illnesses including Parkinson's Disease.  It seems he befriended you, Ms Hobbs and consequently you, Mr Couzens because he, the victim, wanted to buy cannabis for a friend who was terminally ill with cancer.

3At around 5.30 on 8 March 2017, the victim drove to the units and came to your home, Ms Hobbs.  You, Mr Couzens were there at the time.  You were both observed to be smoking cannabis.  After a short time the victim wanted to head off home again.  You, Ms Hobbs insisted that he take you to your bank.  He agreed to do so.  You two then insisted that Mr Couzens drive the victim's car, with him as a passenger.  He was in the rear and you two ensured that he could not get out of the car by using child proof locks.

4The victim wanted to go to his home and the two of you drove him there.  You, Ms Hobbs insisted that Mr Couzens and yourself go into the home as well.  You, Ms Hobbs then insisted that the victim accompany the two of you to your bank.  That occurred and after a while the victim said he wanted to head home again.  You, Ms Hobbs told him he was not going anywhere and you, Mr Couzens kept his car keys, despite him requesting them back.  The two of you then took the victim back to your unit, Ms Hobbs.  There the victim gave you all the money he had with him and you, Ms Hobbs expressed gratitude but then for some reason, you turned on the victim when he tried to leave.

5You, Ms Hobbs pushed him back into a chair and screamed at him, calling him insulting names.  When he tried to escape you both prevented this and he was pushed to the ground.  You, Ms Hobbs questioned the victim about his so-called "stash" of money and cannabis.  To try to buy some extra time, the victim said he did have $900 and 14 grams of cannabis at his house.  You, Ms Hobbs said that you would all go back to the victim's house to locate the money and the drugs.  When you got to his house, you were making sure the victim could not escape.  You went into the house against the victim's will.

6You were then both seeking out the so-called stash of money and drugs.  You, Ms Hobbs then grabbed a bag and pushed items that were on the victim's table into the bag and you took them.  These were an odd lot of things to steal.  The victim said to the two of you, that you should just go.  In a frightening reply you, Mr Couzens told him that you and Ms Hobbs were not finished with him yet.  The victim was put back in the car and taken to your unit, Ms Hobbs.  Through the evening and the night of 8 March which turned into the early hours of 9 March, so from the early evening into the night of 8 March which then went into the early hours of 9 March the victim was kept at the unit by both of you. 

7He was mostly on the ground.  There were significant periods when he was asleep and so were the others.  At some point, the victim got a knife.  You, Mr Couzens got a steel bar and tried to hit the victim.  This was a frightening aspect of the ordeal.  You, Ms Hobbs got a hockey stick and hit the victim around his arms and back and threw a metal grate at him, hitting him on the shins.  At another point when the victim said people would notice him missing you, Ms Hobbs, got an aerosol can and sprayed it in the victim's direction, igniting the fumes with a lighter so as to scare him. 

8In the early hours, the victim found his phone and a friend called him and the victim explained in Croatian, his native language that he had been kidnapped and that the police should be called.  The friend actually came to the premises but could not help the victim then.  Then you, Ms Hobbs said to the victim that he owed you money.  In order to get relief, he agreed to go to his bank and get the money.  At around 11 in the morning you two, Ms Hobbs and Mr Couzens drove the victim to his bank.  You, Ms Hobbs approached the bank teller but ultimately the bank staff suspected something was amiss.  The victim was then protected inside the bank and you two were kept outside.

9You, Ms Hobbs then took the victim's car, driving back to your unit.  The victim was assisted, taken first to the police station and then to the hospital.  On the next day, 10 March both of you were arrested.  Ultimately you have pleaded guilty to kidnapping, burglary, theft and assault with you, Ms Hobbs also pleading guilty to assault with the aerosol can and the theft of the victim's car, when you drove it back from the bank.

10Each of you pleaded guilty.  In your case, Ms Hobbs after seeking but failing in an application for a sentencing indication.  Plainly the crime of kidnapping is very serious.  The maximum term is lengthy, being 25 years in prison, indicating just how seriously Parliament considers the crime.  The Court of Appeal has also considered this crime, which of course like many crimes, can be committed in many varied circumstances.  However, even at lower levels gaol is usual.  This is an example of the crime of kidnapping that is at, but not at the lowest level, but a low level it seems to me.

11It seems you, Ms Hobbs were more the leader and the instigator of this matter.  You are much older than Mr Couzens.  I refer to what the Court of Appeal said in Hanna v The Queen [2014] VSCA 187 paragraph 88, in particular, outlining the types of penalties that are imposed for kidnapping, but this is a very unusual set of circumstances and it is to be noted that for a period of time the victim was sleeping, he gained a knife and also got his phone but nonetheless it was a frightening ordeal.

12The burglary and theft charges and the assaults are not at the upper level but concerning nonetheless.  In the end the taking of the victim, the holding of him and his ordeal as a victim of kidnapping, at the hands of you two who he knew and trusted, is a serious crime deserving of significant punishment.  I turn to the personal circumstances, commencing with you Mr Couzens.

13You are now 20.  Your upbringing was disrupted and deprived.  It is a matter of some significance in the overall sentencing synthesis.  Your mother was troubled by drug use and alcohol.  Your father, an Indigenous man, likewise had trouble with drugs and alcohol but he also was in and out of gaol.  You were taken into State care from birth, moving from foster homes, residential placements, grandparents and other kinship placements including sometime with your mother.  You witnessed violence to your mother and separately experienced violence in some of the foster placements.

14Your schooling was interrupted and largely unproductive.  You went to about Year 8.  You were prescribed Dexamphetamine for ADHD.  You have recently been prescribed antidepressants, in particular to aid with sleep.  You recognise you are often too angry, which you consider is directed at or a product of your parents not providing a stable, loving upbringing.  You have since your
mid-teens used significant amounts of cannabis.  You also have been troubled by heroin use and more recently methyl amphetamines or ice.  You were using before the offending but you stopped.  However there have been relapses during the time that you have been on bail.  Your current efforts to deal with your drug use are commendable.

15You have been in an important relationship for three years.  Both you and your partner commenced that relationship when you were very young and you remain young.  There have been some difficulties and intervention orders and breaches which saw you dealt with by the magistrate.  But the relationship has endured.  Your partner has recently given birth.  Your child is central to your life and that of your partner.  You committed these offences when you were just 18.  After spending 17 days on remand in an adult gaol, you were released on supervised bail.

16The work of your youth justice workers from the Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-op to monitor and assist you on bail has been very significant and has advanced your overall rehabilitation in a substantial way.  The evidence of your case worker at Wathaurong, Ms Tanya Webber was very important and helpful.  She outlined the intensive drug, alcohol and mental health and general counselling that she and her colleagues have provided.  It involved serious dedication and insightful skill.  They are to be commended.  You have been under the care of the Wathaurong for over 18 months, mostly meeting up with workers on a weekly basis, sometimes fortnightly but also as needs arise via telephone calls and the like. 

17You have been helped with your drug problems, with lapses recorded and dealt with.  Importantly, you have readily engaged and learnt from expert drug and alcohol counselling.  Your mental health problems mainly depression and acute anxiety, is presently well managed and you are alert to the risk factors and how to deal with any mounting anger and frustration.  Since the offending which you now recognise as shameful, you have moved away from associates who are a bad influence, especially with respect to drug use.  You have limited social interaction, spending most of your time with your partner and your newborn child.

18I heard of your partner and her difficulties and vulnerabilities.  She also had an especially difficult upbringing.  She has post-traumatic stress disorder and a diagnosis of bipolar.  I was helped by the letter written by the workers from Wathaurong Maternity Services.  Importantly in all that, is how reliant your partner is on you in order for her to manage. 

19Ms Galbraith, the midwife at the Koori Maternity Service at the Wathaurong Health Service wrote the following: "It is evident to me that Sapphire and Jesse are doing their best to develop a safe environment for their baby.  They both equally have expressed their desire to learn as much as possible from the Koori Maternity Service program, in order to learn how they can best be the best possible parents for their child.  I feel considering both of their past histories, it is imperative that they both attend the Koori Maternity Service for parenting, safety and cultural purposes".

20I am told that there are no protective concerns regarding the baby, that is concerns of the Department of Health and Human Services.  Given both you and your partners experiences, you are intensely motivated to do the best you can as parents.  This involves you abstaining from drugs and a wayward lifestyle.  It adds significantly to your positive prospects of rehabilitation.  I have listed a number of matters personal to you arising from your past and some important matters arising from your conduct and your response to your involvement in this serious criminal activity.  I have this morning received another positive summary of your involvement with your supervised bail program. 

21All those matters establish a strong catalogue of mitigatory factors that cannot be just given lip service on the basis that your crimes were frightening and serious.  Those matters add to the fundamental sentencing consideration in your case, which is your youth.  You were 18.  A very young man for the adult courts and one who has personal aspects that increase your immaturity, in the sense that you have never had the benefit of solid role models with appropriate moral compasses to teach you.  You grew up and were someone living in the moment, with little capacity for consideration of the consequences of your actions.

22As was said by the Court of Appeal, indeed by the very experienced Vincent JA in the Director of Public Prosecutions v S.K.J. and G.A.S., he said this:

"When youth is raised for sentencing considerations the focus is usually placed upon the offender's prospects of rehabilitation, but this is by no means the only basis upon which it assumes relevance.  For at least a century, the attribution of criminal responsibility and the response in terms of the dispositions handed down upon offenders, has increasingly reflected developing ideas and understanding concerning personal responsibility, moral culpability and accountability.  In the case of young people, to some extent the law incorporates an acknowledgement of aspects of immaturity.  By reason of the stage of development that an offender may have reached, he or she may not fully appreciate the seriousness and the real consequences of offending actions.  [It goes on to say]  However, it does not follow that this is always the situation or that as teenagers, offenders cannot be appropriate accountable for their conduct in engaging in serious criminal activity".

23Despite your difficult upbringing you have limited prior matters.  Thus I can and do give real weight to all the principles as expressed in the well-known cases of R v Mills and Azzopardi v The Queen as to how and why rehabilitation of young offenders must be given real weight.  It is in the community's interests in the end, that you rehabilitate.  That can be seen now, as you are doing all you can to establish a positive, stable life with your partner and your young child.  Your rehabilitation is advanced. 

24So a key principle in sentencing of young offenders as set out in the authorities, is the need to sentence other than the imposition of adult gaol, if that is at all possible given the crime and the attributes of the offender.  You did do some time in an adult gaol and it was said to be frightening and an eye-opening experience that has had the necessary deterrent effect.  What I must consider is whether the punishment of last resort, that is gaol or detention in a youth justice centre, are the only just and appropriate options in your case.  I have come to the view that a community-based disposition can meet all sentencing purposes, the most prominent being your rehabilitation, but equally important is denunciation of your serious criminality.

25General deterrence is a sentencing purpose of less weight in cases of young offenders, but it remains important nonetheless.  I am fortified in my conclusion, or guided to that conclusion perhaps it is better expressed, by what the Court of Appeal has said in the decision of Boulton v The Queen.  What was made clear by the Court of Appeal in that decision, was that the new sentencing landscape allowed for crimes that otherwise might in the past have attracted gaol or even significant gaol, those matters can now be punished by a community corrections order, if that be appropriate. 

26In part, the decision in Boulton is because a community corrections order can punish and simultaneously facilitate rehabilitation.  The program conditions of a community corrections order are in your case, highly relevant and likely to be of real value in solidifying your rehabilitation.  That said, the community corrections order that I propose will be onerous and you must understand that I expect complete compliance with it.  A false step by you in respect of compliance with the community corrections order will see you likely gaoled.

27Your plea of guilty also means that a lower or indeed a different sentence can be imposed.  I take your plea of guilty as an important acknowledgement of responsibility and an expression of your shame and remorse.  It has also saved the victim of the added harrowing experience of giving evidence in a trial.  I will defer announcing the precise terms of your community corrections order until after I have dealt with your co- accused, Ms Hobbs.

28You, Ms Hobbs, are now 44 years old.  You were 42 at the time of this offending.  You were born and raised until the age of six by your mother and father in the Altona area.  Your mother then left the family unit.  You have described that as feeling literally like being abandoned.  You were then raised by your father as a single parent.  He worked as a boilermaker.  You lived with him and his parents in the Toolern Vale area and later in Melton.  You went through to Year 12 at school and gained work as an apprentice chef after school. 

29You moved from the hospitality industry to work in Corrections as a Community Corrections Officer for about three years in your mid-20s.  I pause for a moment to note this and it is a factor that I have taken into account, in respect of an ultimate sentence for you.  But you left Corrections when, having your first of five children born between the year 2000 and 2008.  All but your oldest child was with the same father, your first serious long-term partner, whose name was Rodney.  In 2007, he commenced to use drugs and the relationship began to fail.  This man became violent and the children were at risk and the Department of Human Services intervened and the children were placed in the care of others.

30That man Rodney was gaoled a number of times for crimes including violence to you.  After he was gaoled in 2009, you were moving house.  You were the subject of a serious sexual assault being raped by, it is said, one of the removalists.  You reported the matter to the police.  The matter resolved it seems, with the accused pleading guilty to conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, being an attempt to have you assaulted because of your allegation of rape.  In any event, it was an understandably traumatic experience that saw you in need of counselling for post-traumatic stress disorder for a number of years and it has endured.

31Following this you were then in a stable relationship for about two years.  Your next relationship from 2011 to 2016 was again, one involving serious violence perpetrated on you including stabbings and being assaulted over a period of three days or so.  The perpetrator, a Mr Birch was gaoled on a number of occasions for his violent crimes against you.  As a consequence of the violent relationship with Mr Birch, you were not permitted access or visits with your children.  You want to restore some relationship with your now teenage children and you are working towards that.

32After your arrest you spent six days in custody before being bailed.  In July 2018 you moved from the Corio Norlane area back to Melton or to Melton South, where you have settled well.  You have considerable support being from your father, your grandparents and you have developed close and supportive friendships in that area.  You were referred by your general practitioner to a psychologist, Mr Stephen Wright.  He has provided psychological counselling for your severe anxiety and depression.  In addition, he helped you cope with the death of your last partner.  His death left you grieving, notwithstanding his violence towards you. 

33You have stayed away from bad influences by not attending his funeral.  That required a considerable effort but revealed your deep commitment to stay drug free.  Your psychologist reported his continued treatment of you for anxiety and depression.  He pointed out the important therapeutic value of your efforts to have contact with your children.  You now have the children stay overnight from time to time in Melton.  An insight to these matters can be seen from a letter that your eldest son took the time and effort to write for the court. 

34He said, "I am Debra's oldest son.  Through my life I have been through a lot at the side of my mother.  I have experienced her at her best and worst.  I say all that I am about to say [he says] not just for himself but for his other four siblings.  [He says] My Mum has had her fair share of troubles, starting with abandonment to assault including sexual.  She has endured many years of physical assault, leading to a series of mental illnesses which hinder her ability to sometimes cope normally under extreme pressure.  Through all the pain and suffering she has been through, she has managed to stay strong for us kids. 

35"I have some knowledge of the crime and as her son I find it hard to believe that she committed it.  As one of the many things she has always told me, is to always respect older people.  The regret Mum feels for her actions is undescribable (sic) and unable to be replicated and it will remain with her for the rest of her life.  [He goes on] Since the crime, Mum has improved herself and her life, more than I have seen in all my years of living.  She has moved out of Geelong, formed even deeper relationships with those around her.  In a time of regret and fear for the outcome of this situation, she has become a better person". 

36Many other friends and family, especially your father, have written describing a significant improvement in you since you have moved and settled in the Melton area.  Your rehabilitation is well under way.  You have no prior criminal history and you are able to call on your previous good character in asking for a merciful sentence.  You have endured significant trauma in your life, especially in your adult life.  Your post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and mental instability are matters of real importance.  Gaol for you, would likely make your mental health more fragile.  Incarceration would be more onerous than it would be, if you were not mentally unstable.

37The matters in mitigation in your case are considerable.  The most important is how you are making significant efforts of late to rehabilitate.  The acute tension here is the serious, protracted nature of your crime up against the serious efforts and the solid results of your rehabilitation.  Before your plea of guilty, you sought an indication that I would not impose a period of imprisonment.  That application was refused.  You nonetheless pleaded guilty to the offences.  That plea was of considerable value in that the victim was not required to give evidence.  Your plea of guilty is an expression of remorse and others have seen your remorse, which I see myself as genuine and important. 

38I will not read out all that was said in the letters, the many testimonials from friends and family.  They are clear that this is a matter that troubles you and you are remorseful for it.  The plea of guilty and all the matters put in mitigation, allows for real consideration of a merciful sentence.  In the end I consider the offending against the vulnerable elderly man, such that in the synthesis of all matters for and against you, I must nonetheless take the grave step of ordering a period of imprisonment, but as brief as I can lawfully allow.

39Ordinarily, as I said at the outset, this crime would see years of gaol.  But in the circumstance of this case and of you as the offender, I am of the view that a short time of imprisonment is required, but in combination with a community corrections order.  I am mindful that at the same time I am not imposing a sentence of imprisonment or incarcerating in a youth detention centre, for your young co-accused.  In considering this, I take into account that you were more the instigator and director of this bizarre, frightening episode and you face more offences as well.  But principally, you were older.  He is a very young man with a vulnerable partner. 

40The sentencing purposes of denunciation and general deterrence are to the fore, as is your rehabilitation.  They are all important and when considered together, the result in the end is a sentence that I have indicated just now.  That is I intend to impose an aggregate sentence that will in your case, Ms Hobbs, involve a short period of imprisonment followed by a community corrections order.  Within that aggregate sentence I make it clear that the kidnapping offence is the most grave crime of what you two did.

41Ms Hobbs, for the five matters that are set out on the indictment - I just pause for a moment.  It was five?

42MR BROWN:  I think six for her and five for the ‑ ‑ ‑

43MR IMBRIE:  It was six, Your Honour.

44HIS HONOUR:  I am sorry, for the six.  Yes.  For the six matters set out on the indictment, I sentence you to a term of three months' imprisonment together with a community corrections order for two years.  The conditions of that order will include that you are to do unpaid community work for the total of 120 hours.  You are to undergo assessment and treatment for drug use.  Assessment and treatment for mental health and you are to undergo programs that would assist in reducing the risk of re-offending.  All the hours that are attributable to those programs, can themselves be deducted from the unpaid work. 

45You are also required to be under supervision.  In this case, I have considered whether judicial monitoring is appropriate and I think it is, so that we are going to have a judicial monitoring.  The date will be one that I will give you precisely, but it would be in July.  You have done, as I understand it, six days of pre - sentence detention?

46MR BROWN:  Yes.

47MR BRUGMAN:  Yes.

48HIS HONOUR:  You have done six days on remand before being released.  This figure or number of days having been reckoned, I declare it is part of the sentence that I have just imposed.  I will ensure that that is entered into the records of the court, so the prison authorities understand that you have already done six days of the three months that I have just imposed.  Had you pleaded not guilty to the offences and been found guilty of them, I would have imposed a sentence of two years and six months with a minimum of 20 months.

49Mr Couzens, the crimes that you have pleaded guilty to, I impose an aggregate sentence of a community corrections order that will run for two years.  You have to do unpaid work for 140 hours.  You must be assessed and the program conditions will involve assessment and treatment for drug use, for mental health and you must do programs that would assist in reducing your risk of reoffending.  All hours that are spent in respect of those programs can be attributed and deducted from the unpaid work. 

50You too, are to be under supervision and you too, will be the subject of judicial monitoring returning back with a report as to your progress, before me in a date which will be fixed in July.  Had you pleaded not guilty to these offences and been found guilty of them, I would have imposed a sentence of two years in the Youth Justice Centre.  Are other orders required?

51MR BROWN:  Your Honour, just in relation to, I think last time there was an indication, it was an application for orders under 464ZF.

52HIS HONOUR:  464, yes, yes.

53MR BROWN:  Your Honour, there is a theft of a motor car.  I do not know whether it was raised last time or not.

54HIS HONOUR:  I cannot - no, it was not.

55MR BROWN:  And that requires mandatory inference with the licence.  Whether it is a suspension or cancellation is a matter for the court.

56HIS HONOUR:  So when - that is only in respect of Ms Hobbs?

57MR BROWN:  No, in respect of both.  They both ‑ ‑ ‑

58HIS HONOUR:  I do not think so.

59MR BROWN:  ‑ ‑ ‑ pleaded guilty to theft of a motor car.

60HIS HONOUR:  Just check that.

61MR BROWN:  I will Your Honour, but I think it was the assault charge ‑ ‑ ‑

62HIS HONOUR:  That is different?

63MR BROWN:  ‑ ‑ ‑ that was Hobbs alone.  Yes.  The - they both ‑ ‑ ‑

64HIS HONOUR:  Wait, Charge 6?

65MR BROWN:  Charge 6, yes.

66MR IMRIE:  Yes.  Yes.

67HIS HONOUR:  If you see Charge 6, it is a Datsun sedan.  If you see Charge 3, the theft, it is the strange array of telephone answering machine ‑ ‑ ‑

68MR BROWN:  Yes.

69HIS HONOUR:  ‑ ‑ ‑ mobile phone, a frozen chicken, a bottle of cola, cigarette lighter, all those things.

70MR IMRIE:  Yes.

71MR BROWN:  Yes.

72HIS HONOUR:  So, the car is just Ms Hobbs?

73MR IMRIE:  Yes.  My client was not charged with theft of a motor vehicle.

74HIS HONOUR:  She drove it home from the bank.

75MR BROWN:  Yes, well sorry, I probably have got an old copy of an old indictment.  My indictment has it, but ‑ ‑ ‑

76HIS HONOUR:  So I have to deal with Ms Hobbs' licence.

77MR BROWN:  Yes.

78HIS HONOUR:  I can suspend it for what period of time?

79MR BROWN:  Any time that Your Honour ‑ ‑ ‑

80HIS HONOUR:  Three months.

81MR BROWN:  ‑ ‑ ‑ deems appropriate.

82HIS HONOUR:  I suspend her licence for the three, for three months.  You will go into custody and when you come out, you will be more or less able to continue.  That is overreach in this case.  Each of you face applications by the prosecution that you provide a forensic sample.  I have considered the seriousness of the circumstance of the offending, together with whether it is in the public interest and because of those matters, because of the seriousness of the offending and because it is in the public interest, I intend to grant the application.

83What that means is, that in your case, Mr Couzens you must attend at a police station, that is the one in Geelong and there undergo the taking of a forensic sample.  There will be a scraping of your mouth.  What you have to understand is, that you must cooperate and if you do not, then the authorities or the police there are authorised to use reasonable force to get the sample from you.  All right?  Now you will read in the document, it will be provided to you, that the time that you have to go down to the police station is not immediately.  It is a window that opens in four weeks' time and you have then got four weeks to get it down.  So, get it done within that period.  All right?  I will just sign that order and speak to you, Ms Hobbs.

84Ms Hobbs, I am granting the application that a forensic sample is taken from you, because of the seriousness of the offending and it is in the public interest.  When the authorities come to take the sample from you, again they are authorised to use reasonable force.  To get the sample, just cooperate with that.  That will occur, I assume within the prison within the next short period of time. 

85Mr Imrie, I have not declared the time that Mr Couzens served in custody, but that will be relevant in respect of the - any breach.

86MR IMRIE:  As Your Honour pleases.

87HIS HONOUR:  Thank you.  I certainly took it into account in the overall synthesis but I have not declared it ‑ ‑ ‑

88MR IMRIE:  Yes, Your Honour.

89HIS HONOUR:  ‑ ‑ ‑ because there is nothing that it deducts from.  Anything further?

90MR BROWN:  I think just the date for judicial monitoring.

91HIS HONOUR:  Yes.

92MR BROWN:  Yes.

93HIS HONOUR:  Yes, we will get that.  The 8 July.  That will be ‑ ‑ ‑

94MR BRUGMAN:  If Your Honour pleases.

95COUNSEL:  (Indistinct) Geelong.

96HIS HONOUR:  Well, you can attend at Geelong, I will be - I will be in Geelong?  We will be face to face in Geelong.  Ms Hobbs, the community corrections order lasts for two years, starts when you are released from prison.  The conditions that apply to everyone who is on a community corrections order are that they - the most important is the first, perhaps.  You must not commit any offence for which you could be imprisoned, during the time the order is in force. 

97So just go back to the ways that you were in the past, any drug use of course, puts you at risk of committing an offence that could involve imprisonment, if you purchase or traffick in that drug.  So you have got to put drugs, as you have, behind you.  The remaining conditions, mandatory conditions or terms, they are really about cooperation.  The first is, you must comply with any obligation under the Sentencing regulations, so when you go to the community correction's office they will need to photograph you, so that they know who you are and so on. 

98You must report to and receive visits from the Office of Corrections.  You must report to the Community Correction Centre at Melton, the address is here, within two clear working days of release.  You must let the community correction's officer know within two clear working days, if you change your address or your job.  You must not leave Victoria without getting permission to do so from the Office of Corrections and you must obey all lawful instructions and directions. 

99In addition to those mandatory conditions that apply to everyone, the special conditions that apply to you is, you must do 120 hours or unpaid community work.  You must - all the hours of treatment and rehabilitation that are satisfactorily undertaken, can be counted as hours of unpaid community work for that purpose.  So, the treatment and rehabilitation conditions are, you must undergo assessment and treatment for drug abuse and dependency.  You must undergo any mental health assessments and treatment, it includes psychological treatment.  That will hopefully dovetail with the treatment provided by Mr Wright.  And you must participate in any programs or courses that address factors relating to offending.

100You must be under the supervision of the Community Corrections Office for two years.  They will need to stay in touch with you and monitor how you are going.  But you also must reappear at court for review of your compliance with this order on 8 July 2019 at 9.30 am at the Geelong County Court.  If you sign that and that will bring the matter here to an end.

101MR BRUGMAN:  May I approach the dock?

102HIS HONOUR:  Yes.  Mr Couzens, the community correction order in your case will last for two years and start today, end in March 2021.  The mandatory conditions that I have read out to Ms Hobbs, apply to you as well.  I will read them out. You must not commit an offence for which you can be imprisoned, during the time the order is in force.  If you do, you will come back before me.  That will be a breach of this order and I have explained what that is likely to end up with.  In addition, you must comply with any obligation or requirement under the Sentencing regulations.  They will take a photo of you and other such things to identify you.  You have got to cooperate with that. 

103You must report to and receive visits from the Office of Corrections.  You must report to the Community Correction Centre, in your case the Geelong community Correction Centre there in Little Malop Street, the address is here.  You have got to do that within two clear working days of the order starting.  You must let the community correction's officer know within two clear working days if you change your address or your job.  You must not leave Victoria without getting permission to do so and you must obey all lawful instructions from the Office of Corrections. 

104In your case, the special conditions are that you must do 140 hours of unpaid community work over the two years.  All the hours of treatment and rehabilitation that you satisfactorily undertake can be counted as unpaid community work.  So those treatment and rehabilitation conditions are, that you must undergo assessment and treatment for drug abuse and dependency.  You must undergo any mental health assessments and you must participate in programs that address factors relating to your offending.  These sorts of things will dovetail in, hopefully, with what is occurring at the Wathaurong with you, with your drug counselling and mental health counselling.

105You must be under the supervision of the Office of Corrections for the two years and you must appear for monitoring, compliance with the order by me at the Geelong County Court on 8 July at 9.30.  All right.  You sign that.  Mr Imrie, you can go down and get that sorted.  All right.  Is there anything further required in this matter?

106MR BROWN:  No, Your Honour.

107MR BRUGMAN:  No, Your Honour.

108MR IMRIE:  No, Your Honour.

109HIS HONOUR:  I thank counsel for their considerable assistance in this matter.  Ms Hobbs, those that are here for you, you cannot spend any time with them here.  We have got to have one rule.  You would probably do it in a straight forward way.  Many will not.  So what I am saying is, you have to go with the Office of Correction's people now, while I stay on the Bench.  You, Mr Couzens can leave the dock.  No, no.  That is what I mean.

110ACCUSED:  I cannot (indistinct)?  Love you.

111MR HOBBS:  Sorry, mate.  (Indistinct).

112HIS HONOUR:  You cannot, no you cannot.  I am so sorry.

113ACCUSED:  (Indistinct).  Tell the kids I love 'em.  Bring Ben.  Thanks, Michael.

114(At this stage the accused left the court.)

115HIS HONOUR:  Mr Hobbs, no criticism at all.  We have just got to have a rule and that, you would probably have just gone and given her a hug and that is all right.

116MR HOBBS:  I cannot help it.  (Indistinct).

117HIS HONOUR:  Yes, I know.  The difficult is, I have all sorts who will ‑ ‑ ‑

118MR HOBBS:  Do not get me goin', mate.

119HIS HONOUR:  ‑ ‑ ‑ create a fight.

120MR HOBBS:  You have passed your judgement.  Do not get me goin'.

121HIS HONOUR:  Right. 

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