Summary
Aim
To investigate whether the NSW Higher and Local Courts have become more lenient across a range of offence categories.
Method
Examination of trends from 1994 to 2013 in bail outcomes, the use of imprisonment as a sanction for convicted offenders, and average length of prison sentence imposed for convicted offenders.
Results
The NSW criminal courts have become more restrictive in the granting of bail; have increased their use of imprisonment for convicted offenders; and have lengthened average prison sentences across many offence types in the past two decades.
Conclusion
There is no evidence that the NSW criminal court have become more lenient overall in the past two decades; on the contrary, sentencing has become more severe in many offence categories.