A prior criminal record does not aggravate an offence for the purposes of s 21A of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW); it may only deprive an offender of leniency or indicate greater weight to retribution, personal deterrence and community protection. Where a co-offender's sentence is so inadequate as to be wholly out of line, the resulting disparity does not give rise to a legitimate sense of grievance in the more heavily sentenced offender. The weight to be given to youth as a mitigating factor is limited where the offence is adult in nature and the offender has a substantial prior record demonstrating failure to respond to previous leniency.
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