SPEAK WITH A CRIMINAL LAWYER

A CRO allows the court to dismiss the charges of the offender without recording a conviction. This is possible where there has been a plea of guilty entered or a finding by the court of guilt.

A CRO provides a safety net, it ensures that in certain circumstances, even though an offender has breached the law, they are not punished where there are extenuating circumstances or the offence was trivial and punishment is not appropriate.

The court will have regard to some of the following circumstances when considering whether a CRO is appropriate – whether it is the offender’s first offence, whether the offence was trivial in nature and the risk the offender poses to the community.

A benefit to the courts is that they can also impose conditions such as drug and alcohol abstention, programmes, non-association requirements and place restrictions.

CRO’s can be imposed for a period of up to two years.

The courts can also impose a conviction under a CRO and if an offender commits any further offences whilst subject to a CRO, the subsequent matter can be recalled and the penalties may be more severe.

Community Correction Orders are available to punish offenders for crimes that do not warrant imprisonment or an ICO, but are too serious to be dealt with by a fine or lower level penalty. Examples when a CCO are more commonly used include property damage, mid-to-high range drink driving, drug possession, theft, and common assault. Conditions open to the court to impose on offenders include supervision, community service, and curfews.

The conditions chosen usually reflect the nature of the offence and the needs of the offender to avoid reoffending. This Order may be imposed for a maximum period of 3 years.

Under supervision conditions, offenders are assigned a Community Corrections Officer whom they must report to on a predetermined basis for assessments targeting questions such as “what lead this person to commit this offence?”. Once assessed, offenders are identified as low, medium, or high-risk offenders.

This sentencing option enables accuracy in the distribution of resources and ensures those who need more preventative support are provided it. Supervising Officers also laisse with close family members of high-risk offenders to ensure the offender is behaving appropriately when not supervised. Offenders are reassessed periodically to track the level of risk they present to the safety of themselves and the community. This reassessment aims to catch early signs of increase in risk and commence intervention programs. Consequently, mandatory supervision conditions promote the Law Reform Commission’s focus on the importance of rehabilitation and reintroduction of offenders into the community.

An ICO is considered a form of imprisonment but it does not involve immediate imprisonment, it is a custodial sentence of up to two years that the court decides can be served in the community.

An ICO is served under the supervision of Corrective Services NSW. There are mandatory conditions that all ICOs put in place, these include:

• The offender is to be of good behaviour and not commit any offence
• The offender is to reside only at a place approved by a supervisor
• The offender is to submit drug and alcohol testing
• The offender must undertake at least 32 hours of community service work per month, as directed by the supervisor
• The offender is to engage in activities to address the factors associated with their offending as identified in the assessment
• The offender is to submit to a medical examination by a specified medical practitioner in relation to the offender’s capacity to undertake community service work.

The court can also impose any other conditions they deem to be necessary.

Prior to imposing an ICO, the court must be satisfied that, having considered the alternative penalties available, that nothing other than a sentence of imprisonment would be suitable for the offender and that the sentence to be imposed is likely to be for no more than 2 years. There are some circumstances where an ICO will not be available as a form of punishment and prior to being sentenced to an ICO the offender must undergo a suitability assessment. Where an offender breaches their ICO, this will be dealt with by Corrective Services rather than the courts. The Commissioner of Corrective Services can impose a formal warning, sanctions in the form of more stringent conditions of the ICO or refer the matter to the Parole Authority. The Parole Authority can even revoke the ICO, leaving the offender to serve the rest of their sentence in gaol.