Stalking

Legislation: Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) s 21A

Maximum penalty: 10 years imprisonment

Period: 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2024

Jurisdiction: higher courts

Charges

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Cases

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All outcomes

Males

Females

Aged under 25

Aged 25 to 54

Aged 55 and over

*Note: unavailable options have under 10 cases

Charge data

In the higher courts, 76 charges of stalking were sentenced in the five years to 30 June 2024. The most common sentence for a charge of this offence was imprisonment (86.8% or 66 charges).

On SACStat, a charge is a single count of a sentenced offence. Charge data is most useful in understanding how a specific crime is usually sentenced.

Case data

In 23 cases sentenced in the higher courts in the five years to 30 June 2024, stalking was the principal proven offence (the most serious crime in the case). Among the 23 cases, 22 people were male and 1 person was female. The most common outcome for cases was imprisonment (39.1% or 9 cases).

A case is a collection of one or more charges against a person or company sentenced at the one hearing. Case data is most useful in understanding the total sentence usually imposed on people found guilty of a particular crime.

Bar graph showing sentence types imposed for charges of stalking — **Figure 1**: Sentencing outcomes for all charges of stalking
**Number: 76 charges**

Bar graph showing imprisonment lengths for charges of stalking — **Figure 2**: Imprisonment lengths for charges of stalking
**Number: 50 charges**
**Range and median**: The shortest imprisonment length is 0.08 years, the longest is 4.5 years, and the median is 1 year, meaning that half of the imprisonment lengths are below 1 year and half are above.
**Note**: The graph only includes imprisonment that was not part of an aggregate sentence (non-aggregate imprisonment).

Stacked bar graph showing sentences imposed each year for charges of stalking — **Figure 6**: Sentencing outcomes for all charges of stalking by financial year
**Number: 76 charges**

Bar graph showing the number of charges each year for the offence of stalking — **Figure 7**: Number of charges of stalking by financial year
**Number: 76 charges**

Bar graph showing imprisonment lengths each year for charges of stalking — **Figure 8**: Average imprisonment lengths for charges of stalking by financial year
**Number: 50 charges**
**Note**: The graph only includes imprisonment that was not part of an aggregate sentence (non-aggregate imprisonment).

Bar graph showing sentence types for all offenders for cases of stalking — **Figure 11A**: Sentencing outcomes for all people for cases of stalking
**Number: 23 cases**

Bar graph showing sentence types for male offenders for cases of stalking — **Figure 11B**: Sentencing outcomes for males for cases of stalking
**Number: 22 cases**

Bar graph showing sentence types for offenders aged 25 to 54 for cases of stalking — **Figure 11E**: Sentencing outcomes for people aged 25 to 54 for cases of stalking
**Number: 22 cases**

Bar graph showing imprisonment lengths for cases of stalking — **Figure 12A**: Imprisonment lengths for cases of stalking
**Number: 18 cases**, including imprisonment only (9 cases) and imprisonment combined with a community correction order (9 cases).
**Range and median**: The shortest imprisonment length is 0.12 years, the longest is 8.08 years, and the median is 1.18 years, meaning that half of the imprisonment lengths are below 1.18 years and half are above.

Bar graph showing imprisonment lengths for males for cases of stalking — **Figure 12B**: Imprisonment lengths for males for cases of stalking
**Number: 17 cases**
**Range and median**: The shortest imprisonment length is 0.12 years, the longest is 8.08 years, and the median is 1.04 years, meaning that half of the imprisonment lengths are below 1.04 years and half are above.

Bar graph showing imprisonment lengths for people aged 25 to 54 for cases of stalking — **Figure 12E**: Imprisonment lengths for people aged 25 to 54 for cases of stalking
**Number: 18 cases**
**Range and median**: The shortest imprisonment length is 0.12 years, the longest is 8.08 years, and the median is 1.18 years, meaning that half of the imprisonment lengths are below 1.18 years and half are above.

Stacked bar graph showing sentences imposed each year for cases of stalking — **Figure 18**: Sentencing outcomes for all cases of stalking by financial year
**Number: 23 cases**

Bar graph showing the number of cases each year for cases of stalking — **Figure 19**: Number of cases of stalking for all people by financial year
**Number: 23 cases**

Bar graph showing the average imprisonment length each year for cases of stalking — **Figure 20A**: Average imprisonment lengths for cases of stalking by financial year
**Number: 18 cases**

Bar graph showing age groups of offenders for cases of stalking — **Figure 22A**: Ages of offenders (where age is known) for cases of stalking
**Number: 23 cases**

Bar graph showing gender of offenders for cases of stalking — **Figure 22B**: Gender of offenders (where gender is known) for cases of stalking
**Number: 23 cases**

Bar graph showing the number of charges in cases of stalking — **Figure 22C**: Number of charges per case (of any sentenced offence) for cases of stalking
**Number: 23 cases**