Melbourne Law School - Theses
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ItemThe suspended sentence : introduction and use as a sentencing option in Victoria( 1992)This thesis examines the introduction of the suspended sentence of imprisonment as a sentencing option available to the courts in Victoria and the problems with its use. As the Victorian legislation regarding suspended sentences was based on earlier English legislation, the thesis looks at the first few years of the English experience and seeks to draw a comparison between the types of problems encountered in the two jurisdictions and the attempted resolution of these problems. It is to be argued that, since the introduction of the suspended sentence of imprisonment as a sentencing option in the criminal justice system of Victoria, an operational pattern similar to the English experience has developed and that: (i) the use of the suspended sentence as a penalty by the courts has failed to reflect the views of the Parliament of Victoria as to its position in the hierarchy of sentencing options, and (ii) the use of the suspended sentence as a means of reducing prison populations has failed, and (iii) the courts have failed to use the suspended sentence option in an appropriate manner. Until either the legislature or the courts have developed appropriate guidelines to rectify or control such use,the suspended sentence of imprisonment should itself be suspended, and if guidelines are not developed then it should be suspended or abolished as a sentencing option in Victoria.