A sentencing judge considering a serious violent offence declaration under s 161B(3) of the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 (Qld) is not confined to asking whether the offending is 'beyond the norm' for the type of offence; the broader question is whether circumstances of the case aggravate the offence in a way suggesting that community protection or adequate punishment requires a longer period in actual custody. An offender's criminal history may be relevant to the SVO discretion. Time served under a revoked parole order is not to be treated as pre-sentence custody on remand, though the totality principle requires some amelioration of the later sentence.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 3 later cases that cite this judgment.