When exercising the discretion under s 18(1) of the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987 to determine whether a non-serious children's indictable offence should be dealt with 'according to law' or under Division 4 of Part 3, a sentencing judge may consider the entirety of the offender's criminal conduct, including any serious children's indictable offence committed as part of the same course of conduct. The simultaneous application of two different sentencing regimes is not impermissible but is not required. For intellectually impaired juvenile offenders with no prior convictions, considerations of general deterrence and retribution are of lesser significance, and the circumstances of how the offender came to participate in the offending (particularly where led by an older co-offender) are material to the assessment of objective seriousness.
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