Jeopardising Justice for What? Keeping Sentence Indications in Victoria

Abstract

In 2004, the Office of the Victorian Attorney General released the Justice Statement Part I, which outlined a ten-year plan to modernise Victoria’s criminal justice system. A key initiative emerging from this idealistic reform agenda involved a sentence indication scheme for indictable offences, on the basis that it would increase clearance rates; thus in theory, benefiting all parties. In line with the recommendations of a report compiled by the Victorian Sentencing Advisory Council (VSAC) in 2007, a pilot sentence indication trial commenced in the County and Supreme Courts, with the sunset clause that it be evaluated after two years and either fully integrated into legislation or abolished (Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic) ss 208–9, s 384). In February 2010, the VSAC released its evaluative report recommending the scheme be maintained in its current form. This paper critically analyses some potential flaws in the arguments of the VSAC report, with a particular focus on the ineffectiveness of the scheme, and its potential to result in unjust outcomes.