R v Hawker [2001] NSWCCA 148

New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal

CITATION : R v Hawker [2001] NSWCCA 148 FILE NUMBER(S) : CCA 60577/00 HEARING DATE(S) : 18 April 2001 JUDGMENT DATE : 18 April 2001

PARTIES : Regina Shane Hawker JUDGMENT OF : Wood CJ at CL at 1; Sully J at 28

LOWER COURT JURISDICTION : District Court LOWER COURT FILE NUMBER(S) : 00/21/0075 LOWER COURT JUDICIAL Nield DCJ OFFICER :

COUNSEL : C: M. Marien A: G. Scragg SOLICITORS : S E O'Connor John Bettens & Co CATCHWORDS : CRIMINAL LAW - appeals - appeal against sentence - obtaining money by deception - sentence outside proper range - use of sentencing statistics - general deterrence CASES CITED: Crimes Act 1900 s 178BA DECISION : (1) Leave to appeal granted. ; (2) Appeal dismissed.

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEAL

No. 60577 of 2000

WOOD CJ at CL SULLY J Wednesday 18 April 2001 Regina v Shane Christopher HAWKER

The applicant pleaded guilty to nine offences of obtaining money by deception under s 178BA Crimes Act 1900 and asked that a further thirty-five matters be taken into account. He was sentenced to a total of six years of imprisonment with a non-parole period of three and a half years.

The applicant seeks leave to appeal against the severity of the sentences on the grounds that the total sentencing order fell outside the proper range for the offences involved.

HELD: (Appeal dismissed):

Ground 1: sentence fell outside the proper range There is a danger is endeavouring to extract a "range" from a limited group of decisions on appeal, or from bare sentencing statistics. Greater assistance is to be derived by general sentencing policy, which has seen something of a hardening of attitude towards white collar crime. It is now generally accepted that, absent very special circumstances, criminality of this character, particularly that which demonstrates blatantly dishonest conduct, with no regard to the propriety of the transaction or their consequences, will normally require a significant element of general deterrence. In the instant case there were aggravating circumstances due to the amount of money involved in the offence, and the criminality involved was "considerable".