Generally tables in this Report are restricted to the nature of the penalty imposed rather than the length or quantum of the sentence imposed. As can be seen from Table I, trends in Higher Court charges and appearances during the 1990s have been inconsistent. However, since 1995, total charges and the total number of distinct persons appearing before the courts have declined. The proportion of charges against Aborigines also appears to have declined, however, this may have been influenced by annual variations in the proportion of charges with no race details recorded. Pleas and results from 1990 to 1997 are summarised in Table II below.
Result excludes withdrawals, transfers to other courts, death of defendants, etc.
Table 3.1 shows the major offence groups by sex and race, for all charges, and Table 3.5 shows similar, for distinct persons. Defendants in 1997 were significantly younger than those appearing before the Courts in 1996. Offences Finalised in the Higher Courts Table 3.1 shows the detailed offence descriptions of all charges finalised during 1997. Of the 1,946 distinct persons who were convicted in 1997, fewer were sent to prison than indicated by the results shown above for all charges. Table IV illustrates differences in penalties for all charges and for individuals convicted by the Higher Courts in 1997 and in previous years.