Life can seem bleak when you’re facing court in relation to a ‘destroy or damage property’ offence, but by equipping yourself with the knowledge necessary to understand the charges, you can increase your chances of getting a positive result in your case.
Section 195 of the Crimes Act makes it an offence to destroy or damage property that belongs to another person.
Section 195 provides different penalties depending on the circumstances in which the property is damaged or destroyed:
- Where you deliberately or recklessly destroy or damage property that belongs to someone else, the maximum penalty is 5 years imprisonment.
- Where you use fire or explosives to deliberately or recklessly destroy or damage property that belongs to someone else, the maximum penalty is 10 years imprisonment.
- Where you are with another person(s) when you destroy or damage the property, the maximum penalty is 6 years imprisonment.
- Where you are with another person(s) and you use fire or explosives to destroy or damage property that belongs to someone else, the maximum penalty is 11 years imprisonment.
- Where you deliberately or recklessly destroy or damage property that belongs to someone else during a ‘public disorder’ (such as a riot or violent protest), the maximum penalty is 7 years imprisonment.
- Where you use fire or explosives to deliberately or recklessly destroy or damage property that belongs to someone else during a ‘public disorder’ (such as a riot or violent protest), the maximum penalty is 12 years imprisonment.
These are obviously very harsh penalties, however it’s important to remember that they are maximum penalties, which means that they will only apply in the most serious cases.
Often, with the help of a good criminal lawyer, you may be able to avoid these onerous penalties by either pleading ‘not guilty’ and fighting the charges, or pleading ‘guilty’ and persuading the court to impose a more lenient penalty.