| Forum Home | ||||
| PC World Chat | ||||
| Thread ID: 64920 | 2006-01-02 05:20:00 | Info on penalties on crimes | Bazman (6587) | PC World Chat |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 417511 | 2006-01-02 05:20:00 | Would anyone know where I'd be able to find information on the punishments that are handed out to certain crimes. Like, burglary, what kind of fines, what sort of prison senctences. And stealing a car, what would that get you? when you get caught that is. Advice appreciated. |
Bazman (6587) | ||
| 417512 | 2006-01-02 06:44:00 | Burglary is 10 years imprisonment...not that anyone ever gets that...more like 15 burglaries and we will give you one month imprisonment which actually equals two weeks so pack your tootbrush and we will have you back out breaking into houses before you know it! But I digress. www.legislation.govt.nz Check through the various statutes in the left hand side and you will find the penalties for various crimes under each statute. For example - theft, burglary, serious assaults etc all come under the Crimes Act 1961. More minor offences - intentioanl damage, disorderly behaviour etc fall under teh Summary Offences Act 1981. Happy hunting! |
Tukapa (62) | ||
| 417513 | 2006-01-02 06:45:00 | Of course, my advice above only gives you the maximum penalty able to be handed out for each offence. Nobody ever gets that. Pity. | Tukapa (62) | ||
| 417514 | 2006-01-02 08:49:00 | What have you been up to Bazman? :rolleyes: | bob_doe_nz (92) | ||
| 417515 | 2006-01-02 09:27:00 | As Tupaka says, the statutory law only prescribes maximum (and occasional mimimum) penalties. The question you ask cannot be definitively answered in any general sense. There is a very large loose-leaf book devoted to this topic - "Halls Sentencing Guide" which might be in the library but I doubt it. This book is sometimes used by lawyers and judges to get an idea of typical sentencing practises and guidelines. I say "sometimes" because every judge and criminal lawyer will know 95% of the time what the sentencing options are. It's only the hard situations which require research. So the best advice is to go to a community law centre and ask. It is all confidential. Otherwise try and find a duty solicitor with a spare moment (ha!) when the local District Court is sitting. Hope this helps. |
Winston001 (3612) | ||
| 417516 | 2006-01-03 00:11:00 | Also look at precedents from previous cases. :) | maccrazy (6741) | ||
| 417517 | 2006-01-03 01:05:00 | Find a lawyer who subscribes to Brookers Sentencing Tracker, a comprehensive collection of sentencing data in electronic format. Sentencing Tracker data is sourced from actual judgments so the lawyer will be able to give you a pretty good guide as to the type of sentences that are typically handed out for any given offence. |
Mackin_NZ (6958) | ||
| 417518 | 2006-01-03 01:15:00 | It's just that my parents' car got stolen. We reported it to the police but they are too "busy" with other things at the moment. So they're not out to find it. Can you believe it? Anyway, I was just wondering what these #&@&*# can expect to get should they ever get caught. My father said they'll merely get a "bottom spanking" and that's it. I sadly think that he might be right. They won't exactly get that, but they'll get a punishment that certainly won't stop them from commiting further crimes. |
Bazman (6587) | ||
| 417519 | 2006-01-03 01:52:00 | I'm not completely sure, but I think it's fairly rare for anyone to be prosecuted for "theft" of a car. It seems that it was often too hard to prove intention to permanently deprive the owner of a car by "unlawfully taking" it. Mostly a car is taken for a joyride, or as transport for a robbery. Only if a car is dismantled for parts or burned or repained and bave all its numbvers changed can the intent needed for theft to be proved. So there's a different offence called "conversion" which just needs the "taking" to be proved. Don't worry, the police won't forget to send your parents a fine if the the car appears on a speed camera picture. :D |
Graham L (2) | ||
| 417520 | 2006-01-03 03:43:00 | Graham is correct . Unlawful taking is by far the most common crime . Theft, by contrast is an intention to permanently deprive the owner of their property . And Mackin gives good advice but it comes at a cost . We pay about $1000/month for our online legal library whether we use it or not . So getting advice on sentencing means instructing and paying a lawyer to do the research . But really any experienced criminal lawyer knows the normal range of sentences . The problem with your understandable question is that there are many variables on sentencing . A young first-offender might get a small fine or even escape conviction provided they pay compensation (reparation) . If they have previous convictions and are unemployed they may have to do community work . It is only those with really bad records (or where the crime is serious) who get sent to prison . The law actually requires judges to consider every sentencing option before prison which is a last resort . NZ actually has a fairly high imprisonment rate and it doesn't seem to work . Having said that, crime has been reducing over the past 20 years although the news media tend to ignore this . |
Winston001 (3612) | ||
| 1 2 | |||||