Possess a precursor chemical

Legislation: Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981 (Vic) s 71D

Maximum penalty: 5 years imprisonment, 600 penalty units or both

Period: 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2024

Jurisdiction: higher courts

On SACStat, a charge is a single count of an offence
On SACStat, a case is a collection of one or more charges sentenced at a hearing

*Note: unavailable options have under 10 cases

Charge data

In the higher courts, 49 charges of possess a precursor chemical were sentenced in the five years to 30 June 2024. The most common sentence for a charge of this offence was imprisonment (71.4% or 35 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 the higher courts, possess a precursor chemical was the principal proven offence (the most serious crime in the case) in fewer than 10 cases in the five years to 30 June 2024. Therefore, outcomes for cases are not given for this offence.

Figure 1: Sentencing outcomes for all charges of possess a precursor chemical

Number: 49 charges

Bar graph showing sentence types imposed for charges of possess a precursor chemical

See Table 1 in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 2: Imprisonment lengths for charges of possess a precursor chemical

Number: 31 charges

Range and median: The shortest imprisonment length is 0.02 years, the longest is 2.25 years, and the median is 0.5 years, meaning that half of the imprisonment lengths are below 0.5 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 imprisonment lengths for charges of possess a precursor chemical

See Table 2 in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 6: Sentencing outcomes for all charges of possess a precursor chemical by financial year

Number: 49 charges

Stacked bar graph showing sentences imposed each year for charges of possess a precursor chemical

See Table 6 in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 7: Number of charges of possess a precursor chemical by financial year

Number: 49 charges

Bar graph showing the number of charges each year for the offence of possess a precursor chemical

See Table 7 in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 8: Average imprisonment lengths for charges of possess a precursor chemical by financial year

Number: 31 charges

Note: The graph only includes imprisonment that was not part of an aggregate sentence (non-aggregate imprisonment).

Bar graph showing imprisonment lengths each year for charges of possess a precursor chemical

See Table 8 in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.