Director of Public Prosecutions v Matthews

[2018] VCC 1456

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

AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

CR 18-00807

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

STEPHANIE MATTHEWS

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JUDGE:	HIS HONOUR JUDGE GUCCIARDO
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:
DATE OF SENTENCE:	7 September 2018
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Matthews
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2018] VCC 1456

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

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Director of Public Prosecutions	Ms L. Hunter
For the Accused	Mr G. Chisholm

HIS HONOUR:

1I heard the plea of Stephanie Matthews in relation to the one count of armed robbery and I had her assessed for a community corrections order in combination with an appropriate time of reclusion.  I have considered the circumstances of the offence in this particular sentencing exercise.

2Although it is clear that this was not a planned armed robbery and that it lies at the lower end of the range of armed robberies, it is also clear that what was planned was a plan to steal from a supermarket, that she had a knife with her.

3It may be called a spontaneous act, but this transformed itself into an armed robbery once the knife was produced.  There is an understanding in this court or there has been some discussion from time to time of what a soft target is.  In my view, although this was not committed late at night, upon perhaps a service station or a convenience store with one attendant, the target of this particular offence was just as soft, a supermarket that may have had more than one staff, but if anything may have been more crowded with children and women going about their business.

4The inherent danger created by that situation and the fear and trauma engendered in the people who were the subject of the armed robbery cannot be diminished, particularly as you chose to go back and argue with the attendant, having already made your way out by the use of the knife.

5It was an armed robbery that was committed with another person and so in my view although at the lower end of what armed robberies can be this was a serious offence that was committed.  Furthermore, it was committed whilst on bail.  It is incumbent upon the court to denounce this behaviour, to punish it justly and to take into consideration sentencing principles that apply, primarily general deterrence and in your case specific deterrence.

6You are 28 years of age.  You have many priors for dishonesty, for drugs, for contraventions of bail, for burglaries, priors for violent offences, priors for weapon offences, more than one prior for robbery, and along the way a failure to comply with earlier imposed community based orders.

7In relation to your plea I accept that it was made at the earliest point and so therefore a discount will apply to your sentence.  It also clearly is accompanied by utilitarian value and I accept by way of the answers that you gave to the police in the interview that the plea is accompanied by remorse and regret for what took place.

8You have spent 229 days, more than seven and a half months, by way of pre-sentence detention and that obviously will be declared and taken into account.  I have carefully read the CISP report, the ARBIAS report of
16 September 2016 which outlines your background, your history of substance abuse.

9It finds that you are at risk of his recidivism, although it finds no acquired brain injury or other impairment.  The psychological report by Ms Cidoni of 27 July 2016 says that you meet the diagnostic criteria for bipolar.  Not much further material is expanded upon in relation to that subject.  However, I do consider that that is an important consideration when coupled with your history.

10The court is confronted really with a person who has been for much of her life enthralled to longstanding drug use with a deprived background and there must come a point at which a circuit breaker is sought to be applied, together with appropriate and just punishment in order to seek to effect some change such as by way of drug rehabilitation, mental health, judicial monitoring and active supervision.

11A program of reintegration so as to provide you with one last chance at reclamation.  You have reached the point at which if you follow this order you may come out at the end able to have a productive and normal life.  If not then your next years will be continued to be blighted by the misery of drug use and more imprisonment, if not worse.

12I intend to apply a combination sentence.  On the bail summary offence you are convicted and sentenced to one month imprisonment.  On the armed robbery I intend to impose a very lenient and merciful sentence of seven months' imprisonment.

13Those two will be cumulative in order to arrive at a period of eight months' imprisonment.  Thereafter you shall be subject for two years to a community corrections order.  You will be subject to supervision, drug treatment and rehabilitation, mental health assessment treatment and rehabilitation, offending relevant programs, judicial monitoring which I will fix in a moment, and you will perform 150 hours of community work.

14I will allow for you to credit 50 hours spent on drug and mental health rehabilitation to go to those work hour components.  Apart from needing to be of good behaviour during that period of time and not to re-offend I must warn you in no uncertain terms that if you breach this order you will be brought back before me, you will be punished for the breach and I will re-sentence you for the armed robbery and what will follow directly in that sentence is a substantial period of imprisonment.

15I hope that you understand that very clearly.  Take a seat.  I will fix the judicial monitoring for about three months after her prospective release which will probably be about January.  I expect at that time to hear that you are progressing well, Ms Matthews, and if there is any difficulties in relation to any of that that you will be in contact with the Correctional Services.

16The trick with obeying an order is not to disappear and to disengage from Correctional Services.  Even if you have some circumstances which make it difficult for you to attend at appointments or otherwise the only solution is to stay in contact with Correctional Services.  They can help you in all matter of things, with accommodation, with your daughter and whatever else needs to be done in relation to further education or further work.

17If you disengage from them within a very short period of time you will be breached and you will be brought back to court.  So on that first judicial monitoring date I will want to hear that you have been cooperating, turning up to supervision and turning up to all the other assessments and work that needs to be done.

18That will demonstrate to me that you are serious about your rehabilitation.  If it does not happen then it becomes very difficult to know what else to do with you except to send you back to gaol.  Are there any ancillary orders?

19MS HUNTER:  There are, Your Honour.  There was a 464 order and a disposal order.

20MR CHISHOLM:  They are consented to.

21HIS HONOUR:  Yes.

22MS HUNTER:  Your Honour, I may have missed it but was there a 6AAA?

23HIS HONOUR:  No, I am about to come to that.  I do not appear to have - I might be wrong about that, but I will sign those orders when I have them in front of me.  But for your plea I would have sentenced you to 15 months' imprisonment.

24I will sign the orders when they are available and I will make them available to you.  Judicial monitoring will be set for Monday 28 January at 9.30.

25MR CHISHOLM:  Sorry, Your Honour, can I just confirm two things?  One, I know it is not always necessary unless there is a problematic report, but do you wish to have someone from my instructor's office for the monitoring regardless?  They are from Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service so I assume they can get someone here if needed if Your Honour wants that.

26HIS HONOUR:  If there is a difficulty about that and there has not been a difficulty with the order then I do not expect anyone necessarily to be here, but if there is some difficulty about what has taken place then I think it is advisable to have at least someone from your instructor's office present.

27MR CHISHOM:  I will communicate that.  Sorry, Your Honour, can I clarify in respect of the total effective sentence of eight months did Your Honour propose to declare the pre-sentence detention that he she has done or not?

28HIS HONOUR:  Yes, if I did not I intend for the time that she has served by way of pre-sentence detention to be noted in the records of the court and to be held as pre-sentence detention for purposes of the sentence.

29MR CHISHOLM:  So she has done about seven and a half months.

30HIS HONOUR:  Correct.

31MR CHISHOLM:  Thank you, Your Honour.

32HIS HONOUR:  Perhaps you can explain that to your client?

33MR CHISHOLM:  Yes.

34HIS HONOUR:  The signature of Ms Matthews on that order document is required.

35MR CHISHOLM:  Yes, when that is ready may I approach with the document?

36HIS HONOUR:  Yes, certainly.  Ms Matthews, the reports that I read about you outline the background of where you have come from, but I think more importantly also include the fact that you do not have any significant matter in terms of your mental state to hold you back if you are serious about reclaiming your own life.

37In other words you are an intelligent young woman, you can make your way in the world without the stuff that you still think you might be carrying around on your shoulders.  It is really a matter for making a choice now.  I am told that you have been in a relationship for quite some time, you have a daughter and a mother who I think may well provide you with some support if you hold up your end of the bargain.

38But the bargain that you have made with me today is even more important than that, and it is not just a bargain with me, you have really made a contract with yourself.  So it is really a matter of choices that you make.  If you want to break that contract you know where that is going to lead.

39I would have thought that at your age you would have wanted to have a better life than the one that you have had and you are capable of doing that.  So I hope that it happens because I do not want to have to be sending you somewhere else, but if that is the reality of the situation, especially if you commit other offences, then I am not going to have any choice.  Do you understand?

40OFFENDER:  Yes.

41HIS HONOUR:  Sine die.

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