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District Court 31 July 2015

R v Bloomfield

[2015] NSWDC 176

DrugsFraud & dishonestyTheft & property
CRIMINAL LAW SENTENCE FORMS 1 STEALING OBTAIN MONEY BY DECEPTION POSSESS CANNABIS

Citation: R v Bloomfield [2015] NSWDC 176
Court: District Court of New South Wales
Date: 31 July 2015
Judge(s): Berman SC DCJ

Background

The offender, a 38-year-old Aboriginal Australian man, was sentenced for two residential entry offences committed in quick succession in January 2015. The first involved breaking into and entering a home in Hamilton while the occupants were asleep, taking passports, wallets, a Mastercard, and a house key. The second involved entering a separate dwelling through a door left ajar and stealing handbags, a watch, a credit card holder, and personal cards.

Each principal offence had associated Form 1 matters taken into account at sentencing. A Form 1 allows a court to take additional offences into account when passing sentence, without recording separate convictions for those offences. The Form 1 matters included three instances of obtaining property by deception using stolen cards, theft from a motor vehicle, and possession of a small quantity of cannabis found at the time of arrest.

The offender had a significant prior history involving cycles of custody, release, and reoffending, linked to longstanding drug dependence. At the time of these offences he had relapsed from a Drug Court program and was using methylamphetamine daily.

  • What sentences were appropriate for the two principal offences, having regard to the standard non-parole period, the early guilty plea, the Form 1 matters, and the offender's personal circumstances?
  • Whether special circumstances existed justifying a departure from the standard ratio between the non-parole period and the head sentence, to allow a longer period on parole.
  • How the principle of totality should apply in constructing an aggregate sentence across both offences and their associated Form 1 matters.

Decision

Berman SC DCJ identified the offences as serious, noting that residential break and enter offences cause financial loss, psychological harm to victims, and broader community impacts including increased insurance premiums and security costs. The judge acknowledged the guideline judgment in R v Ponfield and the fact that aggravated break, enter and steal carries a standard non-parole period of five years, reflecting the legislature's and community's concern about this category of offending.

The judge accepted a 25 per cent reduction in sentence for the early guilty plea. In setting the indicative sentences, His Honour noted that the standard non-parole period was not imposed, with reasons given within the remarks on sentence. The indicative sentence for the aggravated break, enter and steal was four years imprisonment with a non-parole period of two and a half years; the indicative sentence for the aggravated enter dwelling with intent to steal was three years imprisonment.

The judge found special circumstances existed, primarily because the offender required an extended period of supervision on parole to assist in breaking his entrenched cycle of offending and custody. While acknowledging rehabilitation prospects were not strong, His Honour observed that an extended parole period served both the offender's interests and the community's interests.

The offender's background was given meaningful weight. His Honour reflected on the impact of an upbringing marked by alcoholism, violence, and antisocial modelling on an Aboriginal mission, and contextualised the offender's drug use and criminal history within those circumstances, while making clear that a custodial sentence remained the appropriate response.

Orders Made

  • Aggregate sentence of six years imprisonment with a non-parole period of three years, backdated to 24 March 2015.
  • Non-parole period to expire on 23 March 2018, at which date the offender becomes eligible for release to parole.

Key Takeaways

  • The District Court confirmed that aggravated break and enter offences committed while occupants are asleep attract serious sentences, with both the Ponfield guideline and the standard non-parole period framework informing the assessment.
  • An early guilty plea attracted a 25 per cent discount, applied before the construction of the aggregate sentence.
  • Special circumstances were established not on the basis of strong rehabilitation prospects, but on the basis that an extended parole period gave the best available opportunity to break a long-standing cycle of offending, serving both individual and community interests.
  • Under the aggregate sentencing framework, indicative sentences for each offence underpin the final combined sentence, with the totality principle applied to ensure the overall term reflects the full criminality without being disproportionate.
  • A deprived and chaotic upbringing, including exposure to violence, substance abuse, and antisocial behaviour from an early age, was treated as relevant background context in assessing moral culpability, though it did not reduce the need for a significant custodial term.

Legislation and Cases Referenced

Cases:
- R v Ponfield (1999) 48 NSWLR 327 (guideline judgment on break, enter and steal offences)

Legislation:
- No specific legislation was cited in the text provided. The offences referenced carry a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment and a standard non-parole period of five years under the relevant New South Wales Crimes Act provisions governing aggravated break, enter and commit a serious indictable offence.