The Invisible Sanction: Suspended Sentences in Victoria 1985–1991

Abstract

Do suspended prison sentences keep down the prison population? This objective lay behind the introduction of this measure to Victoria in 1985. British literature on suspended sentences suggests that this objective is unrealistic, and that precisely the opposite happened in Britain: a (lagged) blow-out in the prison population when suspended sentences became activated. The initial and longer-term impact of suspended sentences is tested with available data from magistrates courts, higher courts and prison censuses. The evidence from these sources confirms that a decline in the use of immediate imprisonment coincided with a growth in the use of suspended sentences. Some of this decline was temporary, as orders were breached and prison sentences activated. However, the net effect was a drop in the use of imprisonment. The avoidance of a lagged increase in the prison population was achieved by a combination of factors: short operational periods, a low breach rate, and extensive use of discretion in re-sentencing. Despite the apparent success of this sanction, it is largely invisible from the public debate and its place in the range of sentencing options is largely unacknowledged.