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May 2nd, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda A baseline sentencing scheme directing judges to starting sentences for serious offences could lead to tougher jail terms and a burgeoning prison population, a Victorian report says.
The Victorian Sentencing Advisory Council (SAC) has recommended baseline sentences only come into play when judges have already decided on a jail term.
It would provide a starting level on the non-parole period for 30 serious offences including rape, child sex offences, assault and murder, says report chair Arie Freiberg.
The coalition proposed introducing a baseline sentencing scheme before it won the 2010 state election, with the attorney-general requesting the report from the advisory council.
Professor Freiberg acknowledged the move would be a departure from the current “instinctive synthesis” sentencing approach that takes into account all factors before deciding on an individual sentence.
“This is a major change in sentencing methodology because it is going to be a two-step process. Start with a baseline for that offence then (judges) go up and down depending on aggravating and mitigating circumstances,” he told journalists.
Attorney-General Robert Clark said the government agrees with the SAC’s recommendations that the baseline sentencing regime should apply to culpable and dangerous driving causing death, kidnapping and the government’s new gross violence offences, but should not apply to juvenile offenders.
“The coalition government also accepts the SAC’s assessment and recommendations that redefinition of offences is not required to introduce baseline sentencing and that only one baseline sentence level is required for each offence to be covered,” Mr Clark said.
The report took into account surveys of 244 community members’ attitudes to offence seriousness, current sentencing practices and maximum penalties.
The surveys found child sex offences were among the most serious, and the recommendations of the report could result in sex offenders receiving significantly longer jail terms.
Baseline sentences recommended include 20 years for murder and 10 years for rape, sexual penetration of a child under 12 and sexually abusing a child under 16.
However, submissions to the council by legal groups raised fears of sentencing appeals, resourcing problems and the restriction of judicial discretion.
Prof Freiberg admitted the longer sentences could see 600 to 870 additional prisoners over the next decade and an increase in sentencing appeals.
“This issue is clearly a contentious one because it may be generally understood that a baseline presumptive sentence means everyone has got to go to jail,” he said.
“We haven’t read it that way and we believe it’s not appropriate to turn this into a mandatory imprisonment regime.”
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