CJB81
Sentencing drink-drivers: The use of dismissals and conditional discharges
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Author
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Steve Moffatt, Don Weatherburn and Jacqueline Fitzgerald |
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Published
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February 2004 |
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Report Type
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Crime and Justice Bulletin No. 81 |
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Subject
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Bail / Remand; Driving offences; Sentencing
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Keywords
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drink-drivers, dismissals, conditional discharges, prescribed concentration of alcohol (PCA), sentencing |
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Summary
Aim
This study shows that the use of dismissals and conditional discharges for PCA offences has increased sharply over the last ten years, across each of the three PCA offence ranges
Abstract
The imposition of a mandatory period of licence disqualification does not apply to charges for driving a motor vehicle with more than the prescribed concentration of blood alcohol (PCA) that are dismissed or conditionally discharged under section 10 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act (1999) or which, prior to 1999, had been similarly dealt with under section 556A of the NSW Crimes Act (1900). This study shows that the use of dismissals and conditional discharges for PCA offences has increased sharply over the last ten years, across each of the three PCA offence ranges. The rate of use of dismissals and conditional discharges in relation to PCA offences, however, varies markedly across Local Courts. Multivariate logistic regression modeling shows that this variation persists even after allowance has been made for the simultaneous effects of age, gender, PCA offence type, whether or not the offender had a prior conviction for a PCA offence and whether or not the sentencing court had the option of referring an offender to a traffic offender program.