The capacity to modify behaviour without addressing the underlying causes of offending does not constitute demonstrated rehabilitation for sentencing purposes. A sentencing judge is entitled to prefer the observations of corrective services officers over an unequivocal psychiatric diagnosis where there is evidence of malingering and exaggeration of symptoms. A significant lapse of time during which an offender escaped identification does not of itself require a reduction in sentence, and the label 'stale offence' is unhelpful where the delay was caused by the offender evading detection.
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