Director of Public Prosecutions v Jones
[2024] VCC 63
•8 February 2024
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA AT MELBOURNE CRIMINAL DIVISION | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
Case No. CR-22-01647
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS |
| v |
| PAMELA JONES |
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JUDGE: | His Honour Judge Rozen | |
WHERE HELD: | Melbourne | |
DATE OF HEARING: | 6 February 2024 | |
DATE OF SENTENCE: | 8 February 2024 | |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v Jones | |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2024] VCC 63 | |
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:CRIMINAL LAW
Catchwords: Aggravated burglary – Intentionally cause injury – Intentionally damage property – Attack against a family member with scissors – Guilty plea – Mental health – Alcohol and substance use – Extensive steps towards rehabilitation – Lengthy period in rehabilitation centre – Sentence not to interfere with rehabilitation efforts – Numerous protective factors in the community – Community Correction Order suitable
Legislation Cited: Crimes Act 1958 (Vic); Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic)
Cases Cited:DPP (Vic) v Meyers (2014) 44 VR 486; Hamid v The Queen [2019] VSCA 5; R vMFP [2001] VSCA 96; Akoka v The Queen [2017] VSCA 214; Director of Public Prosecutions v Dalgleish (a pseudonym) [2017] HCA 41; Duncan v R (1983) 47 ALR 746; R v Renzella [1999] VSCA 85
Sentence: Time served – 12 month Community Correction Order – s 6AAA declaration – 13 months’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of 7 months
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the DPP | Ms D. Guesdon | Office of Public Prosecutions |
| For the Accused | Ms S. Little | Keenes Little Lawyers |
HIS HONOUR:
1Pamela Jones, you have pleaded guilty to the following offences:
(a) One charge of aggravated burglary, contrary to s 77 of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) (‘Crimes Act’), which carries a maximum penalty of 25 years’ imprisonment;
(b) Causing injury intentionally, contrary to s 18 of the Crimes Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment; and
(c) Intentionally damaging property, contrary to s 197(1) of the Crimes Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment
2You are to be sentenced on the basis of the Summary of Prosecution Opening for Plea dated 27 June 2023, which I note is an agreed document.[1]
[1] Exhibit P1.
The Offending
3On the evening of 29 March 2022, you were driven to Skitch Street, Wodonga by your house mate. This was where your sister Claire lived with her teenaged son Declan.
4Earlier that afternoon and evening, you had consumed a significant quantity of alcohol whilst at home, namely, 1.5 litres of heavy beer and an unknown quantity of brandy.
5Both Ms Jones and Declan were at home: your sister seated in the lounge room watching television; her son in his bedroom playing video games. You had been estranged from your sister for many years due to your alcohol abuse and associated behaviour.
6After directing your housemate to drive you to the address under the pretence of needing to ‘collect something’, you exited the vehicle and collected a metal pole before ushering your housemate to leave. You then walked towards the front verandah of the house, armed with the pole, stumbling as you walked.
7The front security door was closed and locked with a curtain over the doorway on the internal side to prevent people for being able to see inside. The front wooden door of the house was open.
8At approximately 9:35 pm you approached the front of the house and started banging on the front door continuously. Your housemate, still in the car on the street, heard you yell, ‘get the fuck out here’, before driving away.
9Your sister approached the front door and observed you through a side window standing on the front verandah alone. You attempted to wrench the locked door open whilst screaming, ‘let me in you dog, let me in you fucking dog, you’re fucked’. Your sister refused to let you in and asked why you wanted to be let in. You replied, ‘because you got us raided’.
10In anger, you commenced swinging the metal pole at the external light and continued to bang and pull at the door, demanding to be let in. Your sister left the door to call triple-zero.
11You then turned to the left of the main door and began striking at the mains power box with the metal pole, damaging it. You then turned your attention, and fury, to the double window further to the left behind a couch on the verandah and struck it with the metal pole multiple times, breaking the glass of the exposed right windowpane. You placed your arms through the void of the broken window before removing them. You then returned to the front door and struck at the windowpanes to the left of the front door, hitting the bottom pane with the metal pole until it broke. The damage caused to the meter box and windows is the basis of Charge 3 – Intentionally damaging property. Fearful that you were there to assault her and that police would not arrive in time, your sister armed herself with a wooden hockey stick.
12You then returned to the window, knelt down and crawled through the broken window into the house (Charge 1 – Aggravated burglary). Once inside, you stood and grabbed a pedestal fan from inside the front door, holding it over your head, you feinted to throw it at your sister. Your sister raised the hockey stick to defend herself as you swung the fan at her multiple times, before throwing it in her direction. Fortunately, she was not hit, managing to dodge it.
13You moved back towards the front door and attempted to pull a large wooden bookcase full of books and other items over. You were struck twice over your back by your sister in an attempt to get you to leave.
14After this, you turned back to your sister, pushed her backwards into the lounge area onto a couch, before you proceeded to wrestle during which you punched her repeatedly. You repeatedly called her a dog and accused her of being the reason why your home was raided by police.
15You then bit your sister on the inside of her right thigh, breaking the skin through her pants and causing immediate pain.
16You pulled out a pair of scissors from behind you. You began stabbing your sister with the scissors to her left arm and leg while saying, ‘I’m going to stab you in the heart. I’m going to kill you before I die’. Your sister was bleeding from the stab wounds. She reached out and grabbed your hands as they held the scissors, stopping you from continuing to stab her. As she struggled to restrain you, bending your hands back to loosen the grip on the scissors, she yelled for her son to help. She managed to pull you from the couch and pin you down. While pinned down you said, ‘my kids hate you. They’re going to be so proud when they hear what I’ve done’. Your sister believed had she not restrained you, you would have killed her.
17That is the conduct constituting Charge 2 – Intentionally causing injury.
Arrest and Investigation
18At approximately 9:55 pm, police attended the Skitch Street property and found you still restrained on the couch by your sister. You were promptly arrested and conveyed to the Wodonga Police Station.
19On being presented at the charge counter you stated the following in the presence of police: ‘I just tried to bash me sister up that’s all’; ‘I finally found out why I got raided. She’s a little dog; ‘You know I’m gunna go bash me sister again. I’m gunna try. Not tonight’; and, ‘Me sister’s a dog. She’s a fucking little cunt mate’.
20Due to your apparent level of intoxication, you were held in custody overnight before seeking legal assistance in the morning.
21The following morning, you were interviewed at the Wodonga Police Station. During the record of interview you referred to your sister as your ‘slag sister’ and agreed you had a strained relationship. You stated that you had no recollection of events of the evening, and denied knowledge and possession of the scissors. I do not sentence you on the basis that you brought the scissors to the house as the prosecution conceded this cannot be proved to the requisite standard.
22The scene at Skitch Street was processed and photographed by police. The following exhibits were located and seized from the premises: two metal poles and a blue handled pair of scissors.
23The damage to the premises was repaired on behalf of the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing at a cost of $953.63.
24Your sister was transported to hospital for treatment in relation to the following injuries sustained:
(a) Wound to left posterior forearm;
(b) Wound to left thigh above popliteal fossa;
(c) Puncture wound to left calf;
(d) Bite wound on right thigh; and
(e) Superficial cuts to left thigh.
25The wounds to her forearm and thigh were closed by protective steristrips and she was discharged later that evening.
Victim Impact
26Victim Impact Statements were filed in this matter by your sister and her son.[2] They were not read aloud in court but I have taken them into consideration as I am required to do.[3]
[2] Victim Impact Statement of Clare Jones dated 25 January 2023 (Exhibit P2) and Victim Impact Statement of Declan Sainovic dated 25 January 2023 (Exhibit P3).
[3] Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic), s 5(2)(daa).
27In her statement, your sister describes the enduring impact your offending has had on her, both psychologically and physically. This impact is hallmarked by a constant anxiety, forcing her to remain inside, fearful of attack. Your sister also speaks of the feeling of shame and embarrassment the scars you left her with cause. She states that your offending undermined the feeling of safety and autonomy that she is entitled to in the community.
28Ms Jones’ 17 year old son, Declan, states that he has also been profoundly affected by your offending. Declan describes the worry he now feels for his mother. Declan now feels bad that he wasn’t able to help his mother during the assault.
Objective Gravity
29Your offending is serious. So much so is clear is clear from the respective maximum penalties of the offences. I will now turn to consider the gravity of each offence to which you have pleaded guilty.
30In determining the seriousness of an instance of aggravated burglary, the Court of Appeal has stated the following factors are relevant to the assessment:
(a) The offender’s intent at the point of entry;
(b) The mode of entry;
(c) Whether the offender was carrying a weapon;
(d) Whether the offender was alone or in company;
(e) The time of day at which the burglary took place;
(f) What the offender knew or believed about who would be inside, and where the person(s) would be; and
(g) Whether the offender was someone of whom the victim was particularly frightened.[4]
[4] DPP (Vic) v Meyers (2014) 44 VR 486, 498.
31In your case, a number of these aggravating factors are present. As outlined earlier, at the time of your entrance to the property, you intended to assault Ms Jones. You carried with you a metal pole which you found outside the house.
32You entered the property close to 10 pm at night when Ms Jones and her son would have been winding down for the day, not expecting visitors. While it’s not established that Ms Jones and her son had cause to be particularly frightened of you at the time, there was evidently some tension in the relationship. On the other hand, you were alone and were not armed in any conventional sense seen in this court.
33Taking into account these factors, I consider your offending to be somewhere in the low to middle range of aggravated burglaries.
34Turning to assess the seriousness of your causing injury intentionally. I consider this to be a moderately serious example of the offence for a number of reasons:
(a) The injuries you inflicted on Ms Jones are serious, including stab wounds to her upper and lower extremities. Fortunately, she was discharged from hospital that night;
(b) You used a bladed weapon to inflict the majority of the injuries – the use of a bladed weapon is significantly aggravating factor, as it is both dangerous and capable of causing both serious injury and death;[5] and
(c) You assaulted Ms Jones in her home, where she is entitled to feel safe.[6]
[5] Hamid v The Queen [2019] VSCA 5, [42]-[43].
[6] R vMFP [2001] VSCA 96, [20].
35I also consider your attack to have been somewhat premediated in that you directed your housemate to drive you to Ms Jones’ home under the pretence of collecting something. It is also apparent that you intended to seek retribution for the raid you perceived your sister to have brought about.
36With respect to the charge of intentionally damage property, I consider this to be a low-level example of the offence. The damage, although repaired at some expense to the Department, was incidental to your burglary.
Mental Health & Alcohol and Substance Use
37You were assessed by forensic psychologist, Naomi Cameron, on 13 June 2023. Ms Cameron prepared a report which is before the Court.[7]
[7] Psychological Report prepared by Naomi Cameron dated 7 July 2023 (Exhibit D1).
38You reported being diagnosed with Depression and Anxiety in 1999 in the aftermath of your mother’s death. You have been prescribed antidepressant medication (venlafaxine) for the past 24 years, and have remained generally adherent and consistent with your prescribed medications, save for some minor instances of failing to fill your prescription. You disclosed a history of suicidal ideation in the context of life stressors and feelings of being a failure and helplessness.
39Ms Cameron also diagnoses you with Alcohol Use Disorder and Cannabis Use Disorder, both of which are currently in sustained remission.
40Ms Cameron administered a number of psychometric tests during the assessment. Your score on the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale indicates normal levels of depression, anxiety and stress, likely indicative of your Major Depressive Disorder being in full remission. On the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, your score places you in the low-risk range of harmful drinking at the time of the assessment. Although you have a definite history of severe, hazardous and harmful drinking, your lower score is reflective of your abstinence since the instant offending.
Moral Culpability
41I assess your moral culpability for this offending as considerable. It is clear that you went to your sister’s house to confront her physically. You acted on that intent. You attacked her in her own home in front of her young son. Your conduct was reprehensible.
Personal Circumstances
42You are now 52 years old. At the time of the offending you were 50. You were born in South Africa, the oldest of a sibship of three. Your family are of English heritage. During your early childhood, your family moved to England for a few years before moving to Australia when you were six.
43You report a relatively happy childhood where all of your material needs were met. However, your father was controlling and jealous, and occasionally became aggressive when he drank. You recalled one occasion when he temporarily locked you and your mother in a bedroom and left you with a bucket to urinate in.
44When you were 13, your mother temporarily fled to a women’s shelter with you and your siblings. On another occasion, your mother fled the family home after she said she was going shopping and returned six months later. Despite periods of conflict, your parents remained together.
45While you had a strained relationship with your father, you describe a “perfect” relationship with your mother, whom you considered to be your best friend.
46Your mother died in 1998 when you were in your mid-20s. You described your family “falling apart” in the aftermath of her death. You have strained relationships with your siblings due to your alcoholism, and your extended family are all overseas.
47Your highest level of education was year 9. You were often in trouble at school for truancy and general misbehaviour. You describe experiencing some difficulties with concentration and verbal communication.
48Your employment history is sporadic and unstable. You worked at your father’s sock factory for two and a half years, however, you left after becoming pregnant with your first child. Your ex-partner prohibited you from working whilst you were a stay-at-home mother. After your separation in 2000, you worked in various casual jobs as a cleaner and in housekeeping, and for a demolition company and at a timber yard.
49Most recently you have worked for a local cleaning company, Border Cleaning and Services. Mr Clarke, the operations manager has known you since 2020 and describes you in a letter to the Court as honest and a changed woman.[8] Your counsel informed the Court that there will be work available for you there when you are fit to return to work.
[8] Character Reference prepared by Duncan Clarke dated 25 September 2023 (Exhibit D2).
50You have had one serious long-term relationship with your ex-partner and father of your children. You were together for 12 years and have three adult children (one son; aged 33, and two daughters, aged 28 and 24). You also have four grandchildren from your daughters’ relationships. The first five years of your relationship were positive and you recalled being “very in love”. However, in the last six years of your relationship, it became drug-fuelled, unhealthy and violent.
51In 2003, your ex-partner was convicted of murder and incarcerated until 2016. This placed increased financial strain on you to provide for the children as a single mother in the absence of their father, and you described becoming an “alcoholic” from that time on.
Steps Towards Rehabilitation
52You have spent the last 18 months living at the Wangaratta Therapeutic Community Centre. As Ms Cameron states, you have made positive progress regarding your rehabilitation and recovery. She states that you have ‘meaningfully engaged in treatment’, have demonstrated long term abstinence since March 2022 and have plans with professional services to maintain your abstinence.
53While acknowledging that disposition is a matter exclusively for this court, Ms Cameron opines that a term of imprisonment ‘could destabilise [your] mental health and depending on the sentence length, [you] may lose access to housing, which would impede [your] prospects of rehabilitation’.[9]
[9] Exhibit D1, [108].
54When you were assessed by Ms Cameron, you planned to participate in the Recovery Addiction Support Service (RASS) when you were discharged from the Wangaratta program. According to Ms Cameron this 12 month program will provide you with ‘ongoing support, guidance, and referrals to various services that [you] require to ensure [your] ongoing abstinence’.[10]
[10] Exhibit D1, [111].
Future Prospects of Rehabilitation
55You were assessed by Ms Cameron for future risk of violent offending using the Historical Clinical, Risk Management – Version 3 tool. Overall, you were considered to pose a moderate risk of future violence if you were to relapse to alcohol use, a moderate risk of committing serious physical harm, and a low risk of imminent violence.
56According to Ms Cameron, you are in a category that poses a risk that is comparable to that of the average violent offender and will require a moderate level of supervision and resources to manage your risk. Your risk would immediately elevate if you relapsed to alcohol use in the context of a situational crisis or psychosocial stressors, and if you resumed contact with the victim due to the possibility of a hostile encounter and your low threshold for irritability and aggression when intoxicated.[11]
[11] Ibid, [89].
57Ms Cameron concludes that your risk of future violent reoffending is mitigated by the presence of several protective factors, as well as the absence of any recent problems. These include your genuine motivation and willingness to seek help with professional services, your current abstinence, realistic and structured plans to try to maintain this, and your improved insight and stable mental health.[12]
[12] Ibid, [90].
58On this note, I have had regard to the character references provided by your daughter, Ms Kristin Schaeffer,[13] and your former employer Mr Duncan Clarke.[14] In particular, your daughter speaks of your progress in rehabilitation and her strong desire for you to return to the family unit, as a loved and loving grandmother. I consider these supports and relationships to be strong incentives for your ongoing rehabilitation.
[13] Character Reference prepared by Kristin Schaeffer dated 24 September 2023 (Exhibit D3).
[14] Exhibit D2.
59You have recently been granted the privilege of seeing and caring for your grandchildren. This gives you joy and I accept that it is a further protective factor.
60The steps you have taken, and are planning to take, are highly significant and lead me to assess your future prospects as reasonable to good.
Criminal History
61You have a relatively lengthy criminal history, with instances of burglary and violent offending extending back to 1993. However, most of your offending occurred when you were younger. Your most recent offending before this was in 2005 for criminal damage. In October 2004, you were convicted of recklessly causing serious injury and making a threat to kill for which you were sentenced to a 4-month suspended sentence of imprisonment in this court. In March 2004 you had been sentenced to a 9-month Community Based Order which required you to undergo assessment and treatment for alcohol/drug addiction. The October 2004 offending involved a breach of the CBO that had been imposed earlier in the year.
62You told Ms Cameron that you were heavily intoxicated when you committed these crimes and that the victims were your niece’s friends who you described as ‘junkies’. They had apparently borrowed a stereo system from her house and failed to return it.[15]
[15] Exhibit D1, [52].
63There is some similarity between that offending and the attack on your sister. In each case you were motivated by perceived wrongdoing and became angry and violent while under the influence of alcohol.
64This means that the sentence I impose must deter you from acting in this manner in the future, a matter to which I will return later in these reasons.
65Finally, I note that you were serving a CCO at the time of this offending. I was informed by the prosecution that no breach proceedings were anticipated. Nonetheless, this is an aggravating feature of your offending.
Matters in Mitigation
Early Guilty Plea
66The prosecution concedes that your plea of guilty is an early one. This is to your credit as it indicates an acceptance of responsibility by you. Further, you have saved the time and resources of the prosecuting authorities and this Court and have spared witnesses and victims the need to give evidence in court.
Abstinence
67Your counsel submits and I accept that your abstinence and ongoing rehabilitation are matters that should mitigate the sentence I impose.
68You completed a lengthy period of in-patient rehabilitation at the Wangaratta Therapeutic Community Centre and a program designed to prevent relapses and provide you with community support. This is the first time in 37 years you have been sober from alcohol and other drugs.
Submissions
Defence
69Ms Little, who appeared on your behalf, adopted the written submissions filed on your behalf last year.[16] Ms Little submitted that a CCO was an appropriate disposition as it has both a punitive and a rehabilitative component.
[16] Defence Submissions in Mitigation of a Plea of Guilty dated 15 September 2023.
70Ms Little’s alternative submission was that, if a combination sentence was to be imposed, the custodial component should be limited to the time you served on remand which is 36 days.
Prosecution
71Ms Guesdon conceded that a combination sentence was within range and accepted that the custodial component could be limited to the time you have served. Ms Guesdon helpfully drew the Court’s attention to the case of Akoka v The Queen[17] and the need to acknowledge the punitive component of the residential rehabilitation program you completed.
[17] [2017] VSCA 214 (‘Akoka’); discussed later in these reasons.
Consideration
72Section 5 of the Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic) (‘Sentencing Act’) provides that the only purposes for which you may be sentenced are:
(a) To punish you in a manner and to an extent which is just in all the circumstances;
(b) To deter you or others from committing similar offences in the future;
(c) To establish conditions which facilitate rehabilitation;
(d) To manifest the denunciation of your conduct;
(e) To protect the community; or
(f) A combination of two or more of these purposes.
73In your case, just punishment, general and, to a lesser extent specific deterrence, denunciation, and rehabilitation assume particular significance. As is often the case, the factors pull in opposite directions. The High Court has emphasised that all of the factors must be considered and synthesised by the court to achieve a just outcome.[18]
[18] Director of Public Prosecutions v Dalgleish (a pseudonym) [2017] HCA 41.
74In this regard, in the case of Duncan v R, the Federal Court of Australia recognised that:
where, prior to sentence, there has been a lengthy process of rehabilitation and the evidence does not indicate a need to protect society from the applicant, the punitive and deterrent aspects of the sentencing process should not be allowed to prevail so as to possibly destroy the results of that rehabilitation[19]
[19] (1983) 47 ALR 746, 749.
75I have referred earlier to the relevance to your rehabilitation prospects of the 18 month inpatient residential program you have now completed. Since completing that program, you have completed the in-person component of the Alcohol and other Drugs group therapy called Recovery and Support Program (RASP).[20] According to Ms Dhakal of Gateway Health which runs the program, you ‘participated actively and engaged well’.
[20] Letter from Deoki Dhakal, AOD Group Facilitator & Counsellor, Gateway Health dated 5 February 2024 (Exhibit D4).
76These are positive steps that you have taken to further your rehabilitation. The sentence I impose must not inhibit these steps.
77As was submitted by Ms Guesdon on behalf of the Director, the residential program is also relevant to the sentencing exercise in a further respect. Where an offender participates in such a program after the date of the offending but before sentence is passed, the sentencing court must take into account the punitive nature of such a program by giving the offender credit.
78The Court of Appeal has explained that ‘the extent of that credit will depend on the circumstances of each case, including the nature and severity of the restrictions to which an offender has been subject and the duration of the offender’s residency’.[21] The credit to be given to an offender ‘… will, as with all other sentencing discounts, form part of the application of the instinctive synthesis without being numerically identified’.[22]
[21] Akoka (n 17) [109].
[22] Akoka (n 17) [110].
79The evidence about the residential program is somewhat limited. However what is clear is that it was a condition of your bail that you reside at Gateway Health, Greta Road, Wangaratta and comply with directions of the staff until your bail was varied on 24 October 2023.
80I have taken the 18 months you spent at the restrictive residency into account in addressing the punitive component of your sentence. In so doing I have not considered that period as the equivalent of time in custody to be treated as time served under s 18 of the Sentencing Act or as Renzella[23] time.[24]
[23] R v Renzella [1999] VSCA 85.
[24] Cf Ibid, [111]-[112].
81Specific deterrence has a role to play in your case. You must be deterred from further violent offending. In this regard, I note that the risk of any further offending directed at your sister is reduced by the existence until 2025 of a FVIO against you.
Disposition
82I have concluded that a combination sentence is the appropriate disposition having regard to all of the considerations discussed earlier in these reasons. Noting the prosecution concession, I will convict you and sentence you to 36 days’ in custody to be followed by a 12 month CCO.
83You have been found to be suitable for a CCO.[25] This assessment was based on your expressed motivation to engage with support services as you had found them to be beneficial.
[25] Community Correction Order Assessment Outcome Report dated 6 February 2024.
84As the three offences to which you have pleaded guilty are part of a series of offences of the same or similar character, I am able to impose a single CCO in respect of those offences[26] and I do so.
[26] Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic), s 40.
85Ms Jones, I need to explain to you the standard terms attached to all community correction orders and I will go through those now. Listen carefully, please:
•You must not commit, whether in or outside Victoria, during the period of the order, an offence punishable by imprisonment.
•You must comply with any obligations or requirement prescribed by the regulations.
•You must report to and receive visits from the Secretary or their delegate during the period of the order.
•You must report to the Community Correction Centre specified in the order within two clear working days after the order comes into force, that is, within two clear working days of today.
•You must notify the Secretary or their delegate of any change of address or employment within two clear working days after the change.
•You must not leave Victoria except with the permission of the Secretary or their delegate either generally or in relation to a particular case.
•You must comply with any direction given by the Secretary or their delegate that is necessary for the Secretary or their delegate to give to ensure you comply with the order.
86In addition to those general conditions which apply to every community correction order, I impose the following special conditions to the order that I impose on you:
•You must report to Wodonga Justice Centre within two working days of today.
•You must complete 80 hours of unpaid community work.
•You must participate in any programs recommended to address alcohol and drug use and your mental health.
•40 hours spent receiving such treatment is to count against the unpaid work hours.
•You must participate in any program recommended to address factors relating to your offending;[27]
•You are to be supervised, monitored and managed as directed by the Secretary or their delegate.
[27] Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic), s 48D(3)(f).
87Ms Jones, under the law I cannot make a community correction order unless you agree to the terms and conditions. I note that you agreed to them when you were assessed for suitability for the order. I need to ask you now, do you agree to comply with the community correction order and the terms and conditions which I have set out?
88You must understand, Ms Jones, that if you contravene any of the conditions of the order, which will commence today, then that in itself is an offence punishable by a maximum of three months' imprisonment. Should that occur you will be brought back before this court and it is possible that, depending upon the circumstances, the order will be cancelled and you will be ordered to serve a term of imprisonment instead.
Orders
89You are convicted and sentenced in respect of charges 1-3 to 36 days in custody to be followed by a community correction order of 12 months’ duration.
90Pursuant to s 18 of the Sentencing Act, I declare that the 36 days you spent in custody in respect of this offending be reckoned as time served under this sentence. You need not spend any further time in custody.
91The CCO commences today.
92In addition to the mandatory terms, you must perform 80 hours of unpaid community work as directed by the Regional Manager and participate in programs to address alcohol and drug abuse and mental health as well as the causes of your offending as directed by the Manager. 40 hours is to count against your unpaid work hours.
93You are under the supervision of a Community Corrections Officer for the duration of the Order.
94Pursuant to s 6AAA of the Sentencing Act, but for your pleas of guilty, I would have sentenced you to 13 months’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of 7 months.
95I make the Disposal Orders sought by the prosecution noting they are not opposed. I will also make the Compensation order sought.
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