Fences Of Mandatory Sentencing - 1923 Words

3.1 Offences where Mandatory Sentencing is Applied Mandatory sentencing currently applies for many offences. Stated in the CCA, section 279(4), adults who are guilty of murder must be sentenced to life imprisonment. Under section 90(1a) of the SA it also states life imprisonment must be imposed with a minimum of 15 years without parole. Section 318(2) of the CCA states if a person is over 16 but under 18 and committs a serious assult against any officer (police, transit, security etc) a term of detention of at least 3 months must be imposed. Section 401 of the CCA only states there must be a mandatory fine paid if a person commits burglary. More recently in 1996 the WA government introduced the â€Å"three strikes and you re in† law under the†¦show more content†¦Section 297, Grievous bodily harm, states â€Å"any person who unlawfully does grievous bodily harm to another is guilty of a crime, and is liable to imprisonment for 10 years.† Section 297(2) states if a motor vehicle is stolen during this act it will result in an increase to 14 years imprisonment. 4.0 Benefits of Mandatory Sentencing This section needs to summarise and explain the academic and legal argument regarding mandatory sentencing and benefits of reducing judicial discretion in sentencing decisions. (Judicial discretion is the power of the judiciary to make some legal decisions according to their discretion (what they think should be done) You will need to cite relevant journal articles here as they will be the best sources of information. You are welcome to cite literature which discusses mandatory sentencing in other jurisdictions, however make sure you link it back to your topic. Hint: the benefits relate to an increase in consistency across sentencing decisions and increasing community safety by enforcing terms of imprisonment. There has been long been debate between academics and policy (legal) makers about the impact of mandatory sentencing and benefits of reducing judicial discretion in sentencing decisions. There are a couple of benefits of mandatory sentencing including an increase in community safety and the removal of personal bias which results in an increase of consistency across sentencing decisions. 4.1 Community Safety After mandatory