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Court of Criminal Appeal 19 June 2000

Regina v Reid

[2000] NSWCCA 270

Fraud & dishonestyTheft & property
CRIMINAL LAW RECEIVING SEVERITY OF SENTENCE

Citation: Regina v Reid [2000] NSWCCA 270
Court: NSW Court of Criminal Appeal
Date: 19 June 2000
Judge(s): Newman J; Grove J

Background

The applicant was convicted by a jury on seven counts of receiving stolen motor vehicles, following a trial in the Wollongong District Court. He had operated a business on the outskirts of Goulburn in which he acquired stolen vehicles, disguised their identity by re-stamping identification plates and fabricating documents, then re-sold the vehicles or their parts. The eighth count returned a not guilty verdict.

His Honour Howie DCJ sentenced the applicant to a head sentence of six years, comprising a minimum term of four and a half years and an additional term of eighteen months. The applicant sought leave to appeal on the ground that the sentence was too severe.

  • Whether the sentencing judge gave sufficient weight to the applicant's significant health problems (osteoarthritis, asthma, bronchitis, and glaucoma) and his wife's ill health.
  • Whether the judge erred in failing to find "special circumstances" that would justify altering the statutory ratio between the minimum and additional terms of the sentence.
  • Whether the delay between arrest and conviction (June 1995 to August 1998) warranted a more lenient sentence.
  • Whether the sentence was manifestly excessive having regard to the nature and extent of the offending.

Decision

The Court of Criminal Appeal found no error in the sentencing judge's approach. The receiving offences were not isolated incidents but a sustained criminal enterprise, and the Court reiterated the long-standing principle that receiving attracts strong deterrent sentencing, reflecting the legislature's view that receiving is more serious than ordinary larceny.

On the health grounds, the Court accepted that Howie DCJ had taken both the applicant's conditions and his wife's ill health into account when arriving at the head sentence. The Court found no error in the judge declining to apply those same factors a second time to justify extending the additional term beyond the statutory ratio. This is the mechanism known as "special circumstances," under which a court can extend the supervisory (additional) term relative to the non-parole (minimum) term where rehabilitation or other factors demand it.

Regarding delay, the Court noted that the applicant had been released on bail on the day of his arrest and remained on bail throughout. The delay therefore caused him no additional hardship by way of incarceration, and the length of proceedings was explained by the state of the Wollongong lists at the time. The applicant's not-guilty plea, while it could not increase his sentence, also explained the extended timeline.

The Court noted that the applicant's own counsel conceded the sentence was within range, and the Court agreed it was not manifestly excessive for a substantial, ongoing criminal enterprise of this kind. Leave to appeal was granted given the seriousness of the matter and the applicant's age (then in his fifties), but the appeal was dismissed.

Orders Made

  • Leave to appeal granted.
  • Appeal dismissed.

Key Takeaways

  • Receiving stolen goods carries a maximum of ten years under s 188 of the Crimes Act 1900, and the Court of Criminal Appeal confirmed that strong deterrent sentences are appropriate for this offence, reflecting the legislative view that receivers enable thieves.
  • A systematic, ongoing receiving operation involving disguised vehicle identities and fraudulent documentation will be treated as a serious criminal enterprise, attracting significant custodial sentences.
  • Health considerations at sentencing do not automatically translate into a finding of "special circumstances." Where a sentencing court has already factored health into the head sentence, it is not necessarily required to apply those same factors again to extend the additional term.
  • No error was established merely because the applicant had not previously been imprisoned, or because proceedings were delayed, where the delay resulted in no extra custodial hardship.
  • In dismissing the appeal, the Court applied the principle from R v Phelan (1993) that rehabilitation is a central consideration in special circumstances applications, but that principle does not operate in isolation from the full sentencing context.

Legislation and Cases Referenced

Legislation
- Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), s 188 (offence of receiving)
- Sentencing Act (NSW) (as then in force, governing minimum and additional term ratios)

Cases
- R v Phillips, unreported, NSW Court of Criminal Appeal, 11 December 1991 (deterrence in receiving cases)
- R v Phelan (1993) 66 A Crim R 446 (special circumstances and rehabilitation)