Ground 4 - Relevance of the Applicant's Four Week Old Baby
62It is convenient to proceed next to this Ground before considering Ground 3.
63It is accepted on this appeal that in the correctional system in NSW, there are no facilities for mothers and babies to live together whilst an offender is in any juvenile detention facility. On the other hand, if an offender enters the adult correctional system, there is a facility at Jacaranda House where mothers in custody can have their baby with them. These facts are well known, and have been the subject of previous comment by this Court: R v XYJ (unreported, Court of Criminal Appeal, NSW, 15 June 1992); R v SLR [2000] NSWCCA 436; (2000) 116 A Crim R 150.
64Accordingly, as her Honour sentenced the applicant to serve her imprisonment in a juvenile facility, this necessarily meant that the applicant would be separated from her young baby for the entire period of her imprisonment.
65The applicant submits on appeal that, as well as the authorities to which it will be necessary to come, s 6(f) of the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act, identifies a principle which is here relevant, namely:
"(f) that it is desirable that children who commit offences be assisted with their reintegration into the community so as to sustain family and community ties."
The applicant submits that this principle is apt to be applied here.
66The relevance of an offender who stands for sentence being the mother of a young baby is undoubted. It is always a question of weight as to the impact which this factor has on the sentencing process.
67This Court has held that the fact that a person to be sentenced is the mother of young baby is a relevant factor to take into account: see R v Togias [2001] NSWCCA 522; (2001) 127 A Crim R 23. In that case, the applicant was standing for sentence about two months after her baby was born. That fact was well known to the sentencing Judge who had adjourned the proceedings on sentence to await the birth of the applicant's child. At [5] Spigelman CJ said with respect to an alleged failure by the sentencing Judge to deal with the matter appropriately because the sentencing Judge had imposed an order suspending the sentence of imprisonment, this:
"Furthermore, the order suspending the sentence could not be justified on the basis that the respondent would be separated from her child for an unknown period. His Honour could, and should, have deferred sentencing until the respondent had been assessed, so that the Court knew whether or not there would be any separation."
68The Chief Justice went on to say, at [7]:
"In an appropriate case, the inability of prison authorities to provide for detention in a humane manner will justify a court refusing to impose a custodial sentence. That was not shown to be the case here. His Honour was correct to conclude that the evidence from the Department of Corrective Services revealed a process that involved unacceptable delays so that the probable separation of mother and baby could be regarded as inhumane. However, his Honour failed to have regard to the fact that, by deferring by the sentencing task, he may have been able to ensure that, with the cooperation of authorities and subject to a positive assessment, there would be no such separation."
69It was noted in Togias, where the applicant was an adult, that the provisions of s 16A(2)(p) of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) required a court to have regard to, where relevant, "the probable effect that any sentence or order under consideration would have on any of the person's family or dependants".
70It was noted that the authorities provided that exceptional circumstances needed to exist before that provision could be considered: R v Edwards (1996) 90 A Crim R 510 at 516-517; R v Ceissman (2001) 119 A Crim R 535 at 540-541 [36].
71As the judgment of Spigelman CJ in Togias demonstrates, Articles 3.1, 9.1 and 9.4 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989, may all have relevance. However, I note in this case no party drew attention to these provisions, or sought to rely upon them for the purpose of any submissions. Accordingly, in the absence of full argument, it is inappropriate for this Court to deal with the relevance of this Convention.
72At [67] of Togias, Grove J (with whom Spigelman CJ agreed) with respect to whether or not the sentencing Judge ought to have adjourned the proceedings to obtain further information with respect to the applicant and her child, said this:
"Adjournment sine die is not contemplated but a limited delay to obtain useful information. What was required was firm evidence of what conditions would pertain in relation to this respondent and her child in the event that an order committing her to prison were to be made. The evidence tendered was limited to generalities. No attempt was made to obtain focussed information. It is possible that a response in particular terms may not be forthcoming from Corrective Services, but such situation would need to be take into account if it arose. His Honour elected to proceed without knowing what the situation was in this regard."
73In SLR this Court held in circumstances where the applicant was pregnant at the time of sentencing, that the fact that the Juvenile Justice Centre, where the applicant was then detained, would not be able to accommodate the applicant's newborn child immediately following its birth, and that no other juvenile facilities in NSW were available which could so accommodate them, was a relevant factor for the sentencing Judge to take into account.
74Interestingly, in light of the material agreed in this Court about appropriate arrangements for mothers and young babies in custody, to which no attention was paid in the Court below, the Crown in SLR submitted that
"... the applicant should not be separated from her newborn baby because an order directing her to serve her sentence in a detention centre in advertently deprived her of a facility which is available to adult female prisoners namely, to keep their babies with them up until the age of 5 years."
75In SLR, in circumstances where the sentencing Judge had not specifically adverted to the inability of the applicant to have her child with her after birth, this Court intervened to alter the sentence imposed upon the offender. The effect of the alteration was to ensure that after the birth of the offender's child, she was transferred to an adult prison where facilities were available to keep her child and where an application could be made for leave under the then current s 29(2)(c) of the Correctional Centres Act 1952. That provision now exists, in similar terms, in s 26 of the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999.
76It is clear that in this case, first, it was a matter of relevance and importance to the sentencing Judge to have regard to the fact that the applicant was the mother of a young baby, and the effect of separation from her baby needed to be considered, both with respect to the applicant herself, and the degree to which the separation would have impacted upon the hardship of her period in custody; secondly, if exceptional circumstances could have been shown it was relevant to have regard to any effect on the applicant's child; and thirdly, given that there were no facilities for the applicant to be with her baby whilst in juvenile custody, consideration should have been given to declining to make an order that she serve her term of imprisonment in juvenile detention, which necessarily meant that she would be separated from her baby.
77No attention was given to any of these matters in the sentencing Judge's Remarks and, accordingly, error has been demonstrated.
78Ground 4 must be upheld.
79This does not necessarily automatically mean that the applicant's sentence needs to be re-determined. The Court needs to consider whether, in all of the circumstances any lesser sentence is warranted: see s 6(3) Criminal Appeal Act 1912.
80The error which has been identified was in the circumstances here, a significant one. In a case involving a young offender who has pleaded guilty to serious offences and who has no previous criminal record, a matter relevant to her subjective case which ought to have played a central role tending to mitigate any penalty, was not addressed.
81In my view, any consideration of this issue would have resulted in a decision ameliorating any sentence which was to be imposed. As a result, I am satisfied that a lesser sentence is warranted and ought to have been imposed.
82In those circumstances, it is necessary to set aside the sentences imposed below and re-sentence the applicant.
83Because the sentences below are to be set aside, it is inappropriate to give any consideration to Ground 3 dealing with whether the sentence imposed was manifestly excessive.