The most recent data reported by the QPS (2002b) indicate an overall increase of about 7 per cent in reported sexual offences for the year 2000–01 to
2001–02.39 The QPS was able to clear most of those matters (75 per cent) during that period.40 The QPS also said that this growth in reported offences has been continuing since 1992–93. It is important to note, however, that this does not necessarily mean an increase in offending per se, rather the figures reflect increases in the reporting of offences that had occurred many years previously — for example, approximately 20 per cent of offences are alleged to have occurred more than five years before they are reported to the police (CJC 1999). Figure 2 (next page) represents the outcomes of all sexual offences reported to the QPS for the years 1999–2002 (n = 27 439 offences). About two-thirds of those offences (63 per cent) were classified as ‘solved’ during that period, in that the investigation of the reported offence led to either an arrest or another action in accordance with the QPS policy (such as the processing of a notice to appear, a caution etc.).41
It might be assumed, therefore, that about two-thirds of reported sexual offences progress to a committal hearing, with the exception of a small proportion of cases (about 3 per cent) that are dealt with by way of a caution42 or community conferencing43 without a committal hearing when the offender is a child less than 10 years of age.
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Figure 2 also shows that, during this period, 18 per cent of reported cases were not solved, 10 per cent were not substantiated, 8 per cent were withdrawn and 1 per cent lapsed. In other words, about 37 per cent of reported offences during that period did not progress to the next stage in the criminal justice system (i.e. committal). There is some evidence to suggest that the application of police discretion may influence the total proportion of complaints that do not proceed to committal, especially the 10 per cent of matters categorised as
unsubstantiated.
While Figure 2 presents aggregate data for the period 1999–2002, similar trends were found w hen data for each of the four years were examined separately. In addition, the data were similar to those reported earlier by the CJC (1999) for the years 1994–1998, giving some indication that police may have been providing a consistent response to reported sexual offences during the last decade.
Although most cases were solved by way of arrest (72 per cent, on average), the profile for actions undertaken b y the police differs slightly by offence type. The profile for 1994–1998 was reported by the CJC in 1999. Updated figures for the years 1999–2002 were provided by the QPS to the Inquiry and are illustrated in Table 2. Consistent with the findings reported in 1999 by the CJC, these data indicate a generally higher arrest rate for offences such as rape, attempted rape and incest than for other types of sexual offences.
Figure 2. Outcome of 27 439 sexual offences reported to the QPS (1999–2002) Lapsed 1% Withdrawn 8% Not substantiated 10% Unsolved 18% Solved 63%
Source: Data provided to the Inquiry by the QPS in February 2003.
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Table 2. Police action taken by offence type
(1999–2002)
Percentage of offences actioned (n = 27 439 offences )
Offence Arrest Caution Com. Notice to Notice to Warrant Summons Summons Other conf. attend appear issued served issued
Rape 86 2 0 1 7 0 1 1 2 Attempted rape 83 2 2 1 7 1 0 1 2 Indecent assault/adults 68 1 0 2 23 0 0 3 2 Indecent treatment/ children 72 5 0 1 15 0 0 3 4 Assault/intent to commit rape 89 0 0 6 6 0 0 0 0 Sexual assaults (other) 52 4 0 8 32 0 0 0 4 Unlawful carnal knowledge 70 9 0 2 15 0 0 1 1 Incest 86 6 0 1 5 0 0 0 2
Sexual offences consent
proscribed (other) 90 1 0 0 2 0 0 1 7 Bestiality 38 38 0 0 0 0 0 25 0 Indecent practices between males 50 13 3 0 33 0 0 0 0 Wilful obscene exposure 39 3 0 2 53 0 0 1 2 Sexual offences (other) 54 10 0 2 9 0 0 2 23 Average across all offences 72 4 0 1 16 0 0 2 4
Source: Data provided to the Inquiry by the QPS in February 2003.
Notes:
1 Data exclude offenders aged 10 years or less and not, therefore, comparable to the data presented in Figure 2. 2 Data included for June–December 2002 are preliminary only and may be subject to change.
3 Com. conf. — community conferencing.
4 ‘Notice to attend’ is for juveniles who commit offences or for adults who committed an offence as a child (Juvenile Justice Act 1992) ‘Notice to appear ’ (NTA) is an alternative process to an arrest for adults only. The Police Powers and Responsibilities A ct 2000 allows offenders (in certain circumstances) to be issued with an NTA instead of being arrested — the offender must appear at a court within a certain amount of time.
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Progression through the criminal justice system
Data for all sexual offences44 progressing through the criminal justice system in Queensland were requested from the Department of Justice and Attorney- General, via the Office of Economic and Statistical Research (OESR), for the years 1994 to the present. Data were provided to mid 2001: data for 2002–2003 were not available. Those data are presented in Figure 3, below, in the columns marked Magistrates Court, ODPP and higher courts.45
Figure 3 illustrates an estimate of the overall number of finalised sexual offences at each stage of the criminal justice process, including the proportion of cases that are either withdrawn or discontinued at each stage, and the outcomes of those cases that remain in the system to finalisation. It is important to note, howev er, that these figures are estimates based on the data available. Committal
A total of 28 777 appearances for sexual offences at Magistrates Courts were recorded for the period under review. The outcomes of those appearances were as follows:
• 64 per cent of cases were committed to a higher court for trial or sentencing (n = 18 462 appearances)
• 27 per cent of cases were withdrawn or dismissed (including minor matters involving the forfeiture of bail) (n = 7905 appearances)
• 1 per cent of the accused were found guilty and sentenced to prison (n = 159 appearances) or given a suspended prison sentence (n = 103 appearances) • 8 per cent of the accused (n = 2148 appearances) were found guilty and
received another form of punishment such as convicted/not punished, an intensi ve correctional order, probation, fined/default imprisonment, community service, good behaviour/recognisance, compensation or other).
Figure 3. The progression of sexual offences through the criminal justice system: All sexual offences, all courts (1994–2001)
Source: JAG and OESR.
Note: The sentencing options highlighted in the figure include cases that have gone to trial and cases that have resulted in a guilty plea prior to trial. Therefore, while the results suggest that cases that proceed to the higher courts result in a high proportion of convictions and hence a high proportion of sentencing outcomes, many of these outcomes may be the result of a guilty plea rather than a court trial.
NUMBER OF
A
PPEARANCES
Magistrates Court ODPP Higher courts (District, Supreme, Circuit) 0 5000 10 000 15 000 20 000 25 000 30 000 1 4 5 8 9 10 2 6 7 3 5 8 9 10
10. Other punishment (e.g. fine, probation etc.) 9. Suspended sentence 8. Sentenced (prison) 7. Nolle prosequi 6. No true bill 5. Admonished/dismissed 4. Withdrawn 3. Not guilty 2. Progressed to court 1. Committed higher court
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Discontinuance of cases committed to a higher court
The data suggest that about 35 per cent of sexual offence matters that have been committed to the higher courts by a magistrate will be discontinued by the prosecution as either a nolle prosequi (n = 6638 appearances) or a no true bill (n = 187 appearances). A no true bill will occur before indictment and therefore before a trial begins; a nolle prosequi will occur after indictment, but can occur either before or during the higher court trial.
Higher court outcomes
The higher court data include all sexual offence cases that proceeded to the District (n = 12 273 appearances), Supreme (n = 154 appearances) and Circuit (n = 24 appearances) courts for the period 1994–2001 (excluding those matters that resulted in a no true bill or a nolle prosequi, which are accounted for in the previous section).
Of the total 12 451 appearances during that period that resulted in a court outcome, other than a nolle prosequi or a no true bill:
• 8 per cent of the accused were found to be not guilty (n = 986 appearances) • 9 per cent of the accused were discharged (n = 1064 appearances), and • 83 per cent of the accused were found guilty (either by trial or plea) and
sentenced to prison (n = 7989 appearances), given a suspended prison sentence (n = 1034 appearances) or sentenced to an alternative form of punishment such as probation, community service, a fine, good behaviour/ recognisance, convicted/not punished or other (n = 1378 appearances). What do the data mean?
The data confirm that sexual offences place a heavy burden on the criminal justice system overall, with approximately 6500 offences being reported to the police each year, with increasing trends o ver time. The data also suggest that at committal about one-quarter of the matters before the courts are withdrawn. Following committal, about 35 per cent of matters that are committed to trial are discontinued by the prosecution either before or during the higher court trial. Once before the higher court system, however, the majority of cases result in a conviction (either by trial or plea) and, again, most offenders who are convicted go to prison.
Looking at the broader picture, howev er, the figures indicate that approximately 17 per cent of offences that are reported to the police46 result in a conviction in the higher courts. While the reader is warned of the inexact nature of these data, other research from other States and countries present almost identical figures. These results are reported in the next two sections of this chapter for
comparative purposes.
Previous research has indicated that different offences can result in a different range of outcomes. The 1999 CJC publication Reported Sexual Offences (p. 41), for example, indicated that conviction rates were lower for rape and higher for identifiable child sexual offences than most other sexual offences. These trends were confirmed by preliminary analysis of the data received for the Inquiry. As these data were not considered central to the terms of reference for this Inquiry, however, they are not reported here and will be reported in a future CMC publication.
It is also possible that there will be differences in the outcomes of charges and appearances over time, although preliminary analyses indicated surprising consistency during the period under review. Again, this issue was not considered central to this Inquiry. These data will, however, be reported in a future CMC publication.
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Legal Aid representation
Upon request, LAQ provided the Inquiry with data on matters that it had handled between 1994–95 to 2001–02 where the principal matter was a sexual offence.47 During that period, LAQ represented 6727 accused (an average of 840 matters per y ear). However, this figure may be an underestimate due to (a) the non- inclusion of sexual offences that were reported concurrently with other principal matters (such as homicide), or (b) fewer offence types than those reported in the OESR data analysed above. On the other hand, the data were more up to date than the OESR database, and may have included an additional year’s worth of cases.
Nevertheless, while these data may not be directly comparable, they suggest that it is possible that about one-half of those accused who come before the courts for sexual offences do so with legal aid representation. Conversely, this means that about one-half must resort to private legal representation or represent themselves, which will include, of course, associated costs.