The tariff for armed robbery in South Australia remains in the order of six to eight years. Suspension of a sentence for armed robbery is justified only in exceptional circumstances, and factors commonly present in armed robbery cases — guilty plea, contrition, youth, drug addiction, and prospects of rehabilitation — do not ordinarily, even in combination, amount to exceptional circumstances. However, where a Crown appeal succeeds and the respondent has made substantial rehabilitation progress in the community since the original sentence, the court may in its discretion suspend the increased sentence, particularly where incarceration would jeopardise that rehabilitation.
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