This report examines the link between sentencing in the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria and the over-representation of Koori people in Victoria’s prisons.

The focus of this examination is a comparison of sentencing outcomes for Koori and non-Koori offenders to imprisonment, partially suspended sentences, intensive correction orders and community-based orders. Three research questions were asked, including whether there are differences between Koori and non-Koori offenders; whether Koori offenders were more likely to get a prison sentence than non-Koori offenders; and whether, among those who receive a prison sentence, there is a difference in the length of terms given to Koori offenders and non-Koori offenders.