Criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property)

Legislation: Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) s 197(1)

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, 992 charges of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property) were sentenced in the five years to 30 June 2024. The most common sentence for a charge of this offence was imprisonment (77% or 764 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 20 cases sentenced in the higher courts in the five years to 30 June 2024, criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property) was the principal proven offence (the most serious crime in the case). Among the 20 cases, 19 people were male and 1 person was female. The most common outcome for cases was imprisonment (40% or 8 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 criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property) — **Figure 1**: Sentencing outcomes for all charges of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property)
**Number: 992 charges**

Bar graph showing imprisonment lengths for charges of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property) — **Figure 2**: Imprisonment lengths for charges of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property)
**Number: 520 charges**
**Range and median**: The shortest imprisonment length is 0.02 years, the longest is 3 years, and the median is 0.33 years, meaning that half of the imprisonment lengths are below 0.33 years and half are above.
**Note**: The graph only includes imprisonment that was not part of an aggregate sentence (non-aggregate imprisonment).

Bar graph showing lengths of youth justice centre orders for charges of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property) — **Figure 3**: Youth justice centre order lengths for charges of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property)
**Number: 10 charges**
**Note**: The graph only includes youth justice centre orders that were not part of an aggregate sentence (non-aggregate youth justice centre order).
**Range and median**: The shortest youth justice centre order length is 0.02 years, the longest is 2.5 years, and the median is 0.25 years, meaning that half of the youth justice centre order lengths are below 0.25 years and half are above.

Bar graph showing lengths of community correction orders for charges of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property) — **Figure 4**: Community correction order lengths for charges of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property)
**Number: 147 charges**
**Range and median**: The shortest community correction order length is 0.75 years, the longest is 3.5 years, and the median is 2 years, meaning that half of the community correction order lengths are below 2 years and half are above.

Bar graph showing fine amounts for charges of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property) — **Figure 5**: Fine amounts for charges of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property)
**Number: 25 charges**
**Range and median**: The lowest fine amount is $200, the highest is $20,000, and the median is $800, meaning that half of the fine amounts are below $800 and half are above.
**Note**: The graph only includes fines that were not part of an aggregate sentence (non-aggregate fines).

Stacked bar graph showing sentences imposed each year for charges of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property) — **Figure 6**: Sentencing outcomes for all charges of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property) by financial year
**Number: 992 charges**

Bar graph showing the number of charges each year for the offence of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property) — **Figure 7**: Number of charges of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property) by financial year
**Number: 992 charges**

Bar graph showing imprisonment lengths each year for charges of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property) — **Figure 8**: Average imprisonment lengths for charges of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property) by financial year
**Number: 520 charges**
**Note**: The graph only includes imprisonment that was not part of an aggregate sentence (non-aggregate imprisonment).

Bar graph showing community correction order lengths each year for charges of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property) — **Figure 9**: Average community correction order lengths for charges of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property) by financial year
**Number: 147 charges**

Bar graph showing fines amounts each year for charges of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property) — **Figure 10**: Average fine amounts for charges of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property) by financial year
**Number: 25 charges**
**Note**: The graph only includes fines that were not part of an aggregate sentence (non-aggregate fines).

Bar graph showing sentence types for all offenders for cases of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property) — **Figure 11A**: Sentencing outcomes for all people for cases of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property)
**Number: 20 cases**

Bar graph showing sentence types for male offenders for cases of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property) — **Figure 11B**: Sentencing outcomes for males for cases of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property)
**Number: 19 cases**

Bar graph showing sentence types for offenders aged 25 to 54 for cases of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property) — **Figure 11E**: Sentencing outcomes for people aged 25 to 54 for cases of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property)
**Number: 14 cases**

Bar graph showing imprisonment lengths for cases of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property) — **Figure 12A**: Imprisonment lengths for cases of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property)
**Number: 13 cases**, including imprisonment only (8 cases) and imprisonment combined with a community correction order (5 cases).
**Range and median**: The shortest imprisonment length is 0.08 years, the longest is 3.08 years, and the median is 0.65 years, meaning that half of the imprisonment lengths are below 0.65 years and half are above.

Bar graph showing imprisonment lengths for males for cases of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property) — **Figure 12B**: Imprisonment lengths for males for cases of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property)
**Number: 12 cases**
**Range and median**: The shortest imprisonment length is 0.08 years, the longest is 3.08 years, and the median is 0.58 years, meaning that half of the imprisonment lengths are below 0.58 years and half are above.

Bar graph showing imprisonment lengths for people aged 25 to 54 for cases of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property) — **Figure 12E**: Imprisonment lengths for people aged 25 to 54 for cases of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property)
**Number: 10 cases**
**Range and median**: The shortest imprisonment length is 0.08 years, the longest is 2.5 years, and the median is 0.57 years, meaning that half of the imprisonment lengths are below 0.57 years and half are above.

Stacked bar graph showing sentences imposed each year for cases of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property) — **Figure 18**: Sentencing outcomes for all cases of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property) by financial year
**Number: 20 cases**

Bar graph showing the number of cases each year for cases of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property) — **Figure 19**: Number of cases of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property) for all people by financial year
**Number: 20 cases**

Bar graph showing the average imprisonment length each year for cases of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property) — **Figure 20A**: Average imprisonment lengths for cases of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property) by financial year
**Number: 13 cases**

Bar graph showing age groups of offenders for cases of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property) — **Figure 22A**: Ages of offenders (where age is known) for cases of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property)
**Number: 20 cases**

Bar graph showing gender of offenders for cases of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property) — **Figure 22B**: Gender of offenders (where gender is known) for cases of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property)
**Number: 20 cases**

Bar graph showing the number of charges in cases of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property) — **Figure 22C**: Number of charges per case (of any sentenced offence) for cases of criminal damage (intentionally destroy or damage property)
**Number: 20 cases**