Unlawful damage charge discontinued

Our client was charged with Unlawful Damage related to destruction of Council property.

WA Police sought a reparation order for $1,500.

 

We sought targeted disclosure and on review, it was clear there were limited prospects in defending the charge. However, WA Police had not obtained adequate evidence to support the amount sought for the reparation order. We requested additional material from the Council which reduced the amount sought for a reparation order to $131 (91% reduction).  

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As there were limited prospects of defending the charge, we recommended given the nature of the offending and our client’s personal circumstances, that a public interest submission be made to request WA Police discontinue the prosecution on public interest grounds.

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To charge a person, police need to form a view that there is a prima facie case, there are reasonable prospects of securing a conviction and a prosecution is in the public interest. A submission on public interest grounds is made where it is contended there are public interest factors that indicate a prosecution should not proceed.

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Our public interest submission outlined the various factors and how it applied to our client (principles of sentencing, circumstances of offending, the client’s reduced culpability, age, and the likely expense of a Trial). WA Police indicated it would accept the submission if the Council did not object. We negotiated with the Council and outlined the various factors as to why the matter should not proceed by way of a criminal prosecution, which the Council agreed provided it was reimbursed for the damage.

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The charge was discontinued. Our client avoided a criminal conviction, maintained his clean criminal record and was able to apply for apprenticeships with future prospective employers without concerns around a conviction.  Our client was very happy with the outcome.