Admissions to police and facilitation of searches do not constitute 'assistance' under s 23(1) of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) where it is not established that police could not have ascertained the information independently. The mere participation in an electronically recorded interview, even though not obliged to, is not of itself entitled to weight in mitigation. A sentencing judge's finding that an offender has conquered drug addiction while on remand, even if harsh in its effect on the non-parole period, is an evaluative judgment with which an appellate court will be slow to interfere.
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