Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation is particularly relevant to community-based orders.
Rehabilitation is an important purpose in sentencing:
- Young offenders: ‘…the younger the offender generally the greater is the chance and consequently the desirability of rehabilitating that person without requiring him/her to undergo the rigours of imprisonment; though there are, of course, some cases which are so serious that notwithstanding youth and the absence of relevant previous convictions, the offender must go to jail’ (Bainbridge (1993) 74 A Crim R 265.)
- Intellectually disabled or mentally ill offenders - as long as there is no ongoing danger to the community. (Briers (unreported, Court of Appeal, Qld No. 246 of 1995, 24 October, 1995.)
- Where there has already been lengthy rehabilitation prior to sentence (Kynaston [2005] QCA 322) and see also Penalties and Sentences Act (Qld) 1992: s9(2)(o). It has also been noted as being specifically relevant for violent offenders to consider 'any attempted rehabilitation' s 9(3)(g).
The prospects of rehabilitation are said to be especially important for those who commit offences of a sexual nature against a child under 16 years and child-images offenders (see ss9(6)(f) and 9(7)(c) respectively).
But rehabilitation is not confined to disadvantaged offenders:
‘Rehabilitation as an object of sentencing is aimed at renunciation by the offender of his wrongdoing and his establishment or re-establishment as an honourable law abiding citizen…It applies equally to those who, while not suffering such disadvantages, nevertheless lapse into wrongdoing’ (Vartzokas v Zanker (1989) 51 SASR 277).