Ashford v WA [No 2]

[2016] WASCA 222

Western Australia Court of Appeal

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Criminal Law
2. › Sentencing
3. › Arson offences
4. › Fire lit in bush on wet winter day by member of firefighting service
5. › Whether 12 months' immediate imprisonment manifestly excessive
6. › Whether suspended sentence appropriate
7. › Bush Fires Act 1954 (WA), s 32
8. › Sentencing Act 1995 (WA), pt 2 div 1
1. Criminal Law
2. › Sentencing
3. › Suspended sentences
4. › Obligation not to impose immediate imprisonment unless only appropriate option
5. › Whether conclusion that suspension not appropriate was reasonably open
6. › Sentencing Act 1995 (WA), ss 39(2), 39(3)

Quick Take

For arson offences under s 32 of the Bush Fires Act 1954 (WA), where the fire is lit in conditions that greatly reduce the risk of conflagration (such as heavy rainfall), the weight to be given to general deterrence is significantly moderated, and a suspended sentence may be appropriate notwithstanding the general primacy of deterrence in arson sentencing. The case confirms that the unusual features of an arson offence — negligible damage, greatly reduced risk due to weather, and the offender calling emergency services — can place the offence at or very close to the bottom of the range of seriousness.