Understanding SAC Stats

• Data is aggregated to always display the last 10 full calendar years plus the current calendar year.
• A calendar year refers to the year in which offences were finalised.
• Data is typically 1–2 weeks behind the source system (i.e. CRIMES)

In SAC Statistics, sentencing outcomes are determined by:

• The sentencing order applied to the charge, or
• The finalisation method of the charge (for charges where sentencing order was imposed).

An offence may have one or multiple sentencing outcomes (e.g., imprisonment and a fine).
A sentencing order is either a global order or a standalone order. The finalisation method of an offence is treated as a standalone outcome.

Each offence can have one or multiple sentencing outcomes. These multiple outcomes can occur:

• On the same occasion – e.g., a theft offence resulting in both an community correction order and a fine imposed at sentencing.
• On different occasions – e.g., due to a case being re-opened, breaches of existing orders.

List of sentencing outcomes:

The SAC Statistics provides sentencing information at the charge level only. It does not aggregate data to identify the most serious offence or most serious sentencing outcome within a case. This limitation exists due to the complexity of cases, multiple charges, and court processing rules, which make determining a single “most serious” measure challenging.

The key measure is the number of offences (i.e. charge). They are counted in the year that they had been finalised and sentenced (either had a sentencing order, or recorded method of finalisation)

Number of Offences (i.e. Charges) by Sentencing Outcome

(1) This metric indicates how many offences of a specific type (e.g., stealing) resulted in a sentencing outcome in court. It provides insight into how a particular offence is typically sentenced — either as part of a global sentence with other offences or as a standalone sentence.
(2) Each charge is counted individually and uniquely, meaning that a single case with multiple charges will be counted multiple times

• If one charge results in multiple sentencing outcomes at the same time, e.g., a Fine and a Community Correction Order in 2018, the charge will be counted once under Fine and once under Community Correction Order.
• If one charge results in different sentencing outcomes at different times, e.g., a Fine in 2018 and then a Community Correction Order in 2022 when the case is reopened, this charge will be counted once under Fine in 2018 and once under Community Correction Order in 2022.

Understand Counting Rules

• A case (or matter) has one or multiple charges. SAC Statistics considers each charge individually, no matter they are under the same case, same person or same order or not.
  • In the below example, the acquitted charge (E) is excluded from SAC Statistics. Charge D is still included even though they are under the same case
  • In the below example, for counting method, e.g., for stealing in 2022, a fine order applies to four charges (A,B,D,E) of stealing and 1 charge of breach of bail. Those four charges are all counted in fine in 2020.
  • In the below example, for re-opening Charge A (initially lodged in 2020, then re-opened in 2024 and re-sentenced with a home detention standalone order) is counted in both 2020 and 2024.

• In SAC Statistics, order duration represents the length of the order as recorded, does not indicate actual time served.
  • The table below shows how each order duration is defined

Notes

• The order duration groupings in the table above may not all appear in the statistics, depending on the selected offence (i.e. SECTION) and other filters.
• The minimum and maximum order duration appear in the filters in the dashboard vary depending on the selected offence (i.e.SECTION) and other filters.

Definitions

(1) Standalone Outcome: a sentencing order or finalisation method that applies to a single offence.
(2) Global Outcome: a global sentencing order refers to a sentencing order that applies to multiple offences within a case or across multiple cases.

You can view statistics for Global and Standalone Sentences using the filters below:

An offence may fall into one of the following scenarios:

• Only sentenced globally (e.g., a single global imprisonment order covering several charges).
• Only sentenced with a standalone order (e.g., a fine applied solely to that offence).
• Both:
  • A standalone order applies to the offence (e.g., a fine), and
  • A global sentencing order applies to that offence along with other offences (e.g., a global imprisonment order).

The SAC Stats tables display the three scenarios as applicable, for instance:

Notes
Global in filter → global only, global & standalone in tables
Standalone in filter → standalone only, global & standalone in tables

The following data is included in SAC Statistics:

• Offences finalised and/or sentenced.
• Charges proven against a defendant (i.e. the defendant was found guilty) and finalised and/or sentenced in the Magistrates Court.
  • A sentenced offence must have a
    final sentencing orders. Interim sentencing orders such as sanction and adjourned orders arenot considered.
• Only criminal cases are included (not civil cases).
• Party status recorded as adult person (excluding youth), body corporate (e.g., associations, businesses), or other (e.g., dealers, joint).
• Offences lodged under the following matter types:
  • Application
  • Complaint
  • Family Violence
  • Restraint Order

The following data is NOT included in SAC Statistics:

• Offences are not finalised.
• Offences finalised in Supreme Court.
• Civil cases.
• Youth offenders are excluded, this includes
  • when an offender' status is recorded as a youth by the Court, or
  • a sentencing order is made under youth legislation.
• Offences lodged under the matter type Appeal and Community Conference.
• Warrant – Suspended Sentence is excluded because it is no longer used in court processes and lacks essential details such as orderduration.
• Sanction and adjourned orders are considered as interim orders (rather than final sentencing orders), therefore they are excluded from SAC Stats, such as the following orders:
  • Drug Treatment Order (Sanction) Adjourned
  • Drug Treatment Order (Sanction)
  • Compensation Order - adjourned sine die
  • Home Detention Order Adjourned
  • Community Correction Order Adjourned

The following sentencing outcomes are excluded:

1. Administrative outcomes
   • Administrative Error - Withdrawn
   • See alternative charge
   • No Order Made / No Order Made S27 4C (d)
   • Drug Treatment Order Complete SA S27L
   • Drug Treatment Order treatment and supervision (SA 27E1b)
     (note that this is considered part of the supervision component of a Drug Treatment Order. The Drug Treatment Order statistics use the custodial components to count.)
   • Finalised S385 CC
2. No further processing outcomes:
   • Apology accepted and penalty remitted
   • Defendant Deceased
   • Discontinued (Section 12(1)(a)(iii) DPP Act)
   • Dismissed - Prosecution Discontinued
   • Dismissed pursuant to Section 47(1)(a)
   • No Finding Mental Impairment Act s18
   • No further proceedings under Section 26(1) of the Justices Act 1959
   • Subsumed and Dismissed
   • Withdrawn
3. Transfer to/finalised in Supreme Court
   • Matter Finalised in Supreme Court

Single-offence-based Stats

• SAC Statistics are only available for a single offence
  (i.e. when a single SECTION is selected). Views based on multiple ACTs or SECTIONs are not supported.

Order Duration

• Order duration is recorded in years, months, and weeks in CRIMES. To convert this into days for reporting purpose, the following method uses fixed approximations and provides only an estimated value, not an exact calculation:
  • Total order duration (days)=(Years×365)+(Months×30)+(Weeks×7).
• This approach is approximate because:
  • Leap years are ignored.
  • Months vary between 28 and 31 days.
  • It assumes standard week length only.

Community Service Hours (CSO Hours) in Community Correction Order

• CSO hours are recorded in free-text format in CRIMES. Entries that cannot be reliably converted to numeric values are excluded from the statistics

Sentencing Orders

• Sentencing orders without detailed data are excluded from SAC Statistics.(e.g., Warrant Suspended Sentence order is a legacy order and lacks duration details) due to database limitations or business processes change in the Magistrates Court. This exclusion impacts overall data accuracy.

Charge-Level Sentences

• SAC Statistics provides sentencing information at the charge level only. It does not aggregate data to identify the most serious offence or most serious sentencing outcome within a case. This limitation exists due to the complexity of cases, multiple charges, and court processing rules, which make determining a single “most serious” measure challenging.

Data Quality

• Magistrates’ Court is continuously improving data quality, including correcting human data entry errors.

Update to SAC Stats

• Magistrates’ Court data is sourced from CRIMES. SAC Statistics data is typically 1–2 weeks behind the source system.