Wattling and O’Brien
[2017] VCC 2033
•8 September 2017
| IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA | Revised Not Restricted Suitable for Publication |
AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION
AP-17-1587
| In the matter of DION WATTLING | |
| and | |
| SENIOR CONSTABLE DAMIEN O’BRIEN | |
| JUDGE: | HER HONOUR JUDGE CANNON |
| WHERE HELD: | Melbourne |
| DATE OF HEARING: | 5 September 2017 |
| DATE OF SENTENCE: | 8 September 2017 |
| CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | Wattling and O’Brien |
| MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2017] VCC 2033 |
REASONS FOR RE-SENTENCE
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Subject: CRIMINAL LAW
Catchwords: Appeal against sentence – Original sentence involved term of imprisonment – Driving offences
Sentence:Convicted and re-sentenced to Community Corrections Order – duration of 12 months with supervision, unpaid community work offset with 50 hours of successful drug treatment and rehabilitation under the order – treatment and rehabilitation (drugs), medical assessment and re-offending programs – Licence cancellation – s.6AAA Sentencing Act 1991 declaration
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the DPP (on behalf of S/C O’Brien) | Mr T. Hoare | Solicitor for Public Prosecutions |
| For the Appellant | Mr N. Leslie |
HER HONOUR:
1.I set aside the Magistrates Court Orders in this matter.
2.Mr Wattling, you are fortunate that you are not going to gaol today, as you have a most unimpressive criminal history and a relevant one to the offending before me.
3.If you are disqualified from driving, you don’t drive, no matter what favour you are asked to do, and this is especially so when you have drugs in your system. You also have a severe hearing impairment which you must have attended to.
4.I am requiring this to happen as part of the order that I impose. You are on specific notice now, if you needed to be, that driving a car is one of the most potentially dangerous things a person can do in their daily lives, and engaging in this activity when you are disqualified from doing so or when you have consumed illicit substances is putting other lives as well as your own at risk. However, you were pulled over on this occasion for a faulty tail light and not because of your driving per se. You also have a job to go to and will need your licence in order to pursue this employment, this is, of course, on the basis that you are deemed suitable to drive again in view of your hearing problems.
5.I understand that you took drugs in the context of a bad relationship which has since ended; however, I want to be sure that your drug abuse has also ended which is why I will impose a condition in respect of assessment and treatment for drug dependency.
6.I intend to place you on a Community Corrections Order but I can only do this with your consent so please listen carefully to the order that I propose:
7.The CCO would run for a period of 12 months.
8.The conditions of the CCO would be as follows:
9.The mandatory terms that apply to all Community Correction Orders are:
You must not commit another offence for which you could be imprisoned during the time that the order is in force;
You must comply with any obligation or requirement prescribed by regulation 17 of the Sentencing Regulations 2011;
You must report to, and receive visits from, the Secretary to the DOJ (or his or her delegate);
You must report to the Dandenong Community Corrections Centre before 4 pm on Tuesday 12th September 2017.
You must let a community corrections officer know within two clear working days of you changing your address or job;
You must not leave Victoria without first obtaining permission to do so from the Secretary to the DOJ (or his/her delegate);
You must obey all lawful instructions from and directions of the Secretary to the DOJ (or his/her delegate).
The conditions that apply in addition to the mandatory terms listed are:-
Community Work
You must undergo 100 hours unpaid community work within 12 months. Up to 50 hours of the unpaid community work may be offset by your satisfactory completion of drug treatment under this order.
Supervision
You must be under the supervision of a Community Corrections Officer for a period of 12 months.
Treatment and Rehabilitation
You must undergo assessment and treatment including testing for drug abuse or dependency as directed by the Regional Manager.
You must undergo medical assessment and appropriate treatment-this is especially with a view to address your hearing problems as you ought not even think of obtaining a drivers licence without this problem being properly addressed.
You must undergo programs or courses aimed at addressing factors relating to the offending as directed by the Regional Manager.
Do you consent to the terms and conditions of the order?
I should tell you that if you do not comply with all of the requirements of this CCO then you will face breach proceedings before me. You will be sentenced in relation to the breach and you will be re-sentenced in relation to the charges-in which case you may well be sentenced to gaol. I would regard a breach of the CCO as a most serious matter, whether it be because of further offending or because of non-compliance with any of the other conditions of the order.
Do you understand this? Do you maintain your consent to the order?
Therefore in relation to the charges, you are convicted and sentenced to a CCO in the terms and conditions that I have just set out.
All licences are cancelled and you are disqualified from driving for a period of 6 months from today’s date
I will ask your Counsel to assist you with the signing of the CCO
If not for your pleas of guilty, I would have sentenced you to 6 months imprisonment in respect of the Drive whilst disqualified charge, effective from 23rd June this year (the date that the learned Magistrate originally imposed the order) and imposed an aggregate fine of $2000 in respect of the other matters.
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