Use heroin

Legislation: Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981 (Vic) s 75

Maximum penalty: 1 year imprisonment, 30 penalty units, or both

Period: 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2023

Jurisdiction: Magistrates' Court

Charges

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Cases

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All outcomes

Males

Females

Aged 18 to 24

Aged 25 to 54

Aged 55 and over

*Note: unavailable options have under 10 cases

Charge data

In the Magistrates' Court, 68 charges of use heroin were sentenced in the three years to 30 June 2023. The most common sentence for a charge of this offence was imprisonment (22.1% or 15 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 67 cases sentenced in the Magistrates' Court in the three years to 30 June 2023, each case included at least one charge of use heroin. Among the 67 cases, 54 people were male and 13 people were female. The most common outcome for cases was imprisonment (31.3% or 21 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 use heroin — **Figure 1**: Sentencing outcomes for all charges of use heroin
**Number: 68 charges**

Bar graph showing lengths of community correction orders for charges of use heroin — **Figure 3**: Community correction order lengths for charges of use heroin
**Number: 13 charges**

Stacked bar graph showing sentences imposed each year for charges of use heroin — **Figure 5**: Sentencing outcomes for all charges of use heroin by financial year
**Number: 68 charges**

Bar graph showing the number of charges each year for the offence of use heroin — **Figure 6**: Number of charges of use heroin by financial year
**Number: 68 charges**

Bar graph showing sentence types for all offenders for cases of use heroin — **Figure 9A**: Sentencing outcomes for all people for cases of use heroin
**Number: 67 cases**

Bar graph showing sentence types for male offenders for cases of use heroin — **Figure 9B**: Sentencing outcomes for males for cases of use heroin
**Number: 54 cases**

Bar graph showing sentence types for female offenders for cases of use heroin — **Figure 9C**: Sentencing outcomes for females for cases of use heroin
**Number: 13 cases**

Bar graph showing sentence types for offenders aged under 25 for cases of use heroin — **Figure 9D**: Sentencing outcomes for people aged under 25 for cases of use heroin
**Number: 4 cases**

Bar graph showing sentence types for offenders aged 25 to 54 for cases of use heroin — **Figure 9E**: Sentencing outcomes for people aged 25 to 54 for cases of use heroin
**Number: 60 cases**

Bar graph showing sentence types for offenders aged 55 and over for cases of use heroin — **Figure 9F**: Sentencing outcomes for people aged 55 and over for cases of use heroin
**Number: 3 cases**

Bar graph showing imprisonment lengths for cases of use heroin — **Figure 10**: Imprisonment lengths for cases of use heroin
**Number: 25 cases**, including imprisonment only (21 cases) and imprisonment combined with a community correction order (4 cases).

Bar graph showing non-parole periods for cases of use heroin — **Figure 11**: Non-parole periods for all people for cases of use heroin
**Number: 21 cases**
**Note**: Imprisonment terms do not include a community correction order.

Bar graph showing lengths of community correction orders for cases of use heroin — **Figure 12**: Community correction order lengths for cases of use heroin
**Number: 12 cases**

Stacked bar graph showing sentences imposed each year for cases of use heroin — **Figure 13**: Sentencing outcomes for all cases of use heroin by financial year
**Number: 67 cases**

Bar graph showing the number of cases each year for cases of use heroin — **Figure 14**: Number of cases of use heroin for all people by financial year
**Number: 67 cases**

Bar graph showing the average imprisonment length each year for cases of use heroin — **Figure 15**: Average imprisonment lengths for cases of use heroin by financial year
**Number: 25 cases**

Bar graph showing the average imprisonment length and average non-parole period for each year for cases of use heroin — **Figure 16**: Average imprisonment lengths and non-parole periods (NPPs) for cases of use heroin by financial year
**Number: 3 cases**
**Note**: *NPP Cases* in the graph indicates that only cases with a non-parole period are included.