Changes made by the Safe Night Out Legislation Amendment Bill 2014 (Qld) now provide for mandatory community service orders to be made by Courts in certain instances.

The most common of these instances is when a person is charged with obstructing or assaulting Police whilst adversely affected (i.e. intoxicated) in a public place.

Assaulting or obstructing a police officer is an incredibly common offence that is regularly before the courts, as the definition of ‘obstruct’ is quite wide.  To obstruct police is defined as ‘hinder, resist and attempt to obstruct’ a police officer in performance of their duties[1].

This includes conduct such as:

• resisting arrest or making an arrest difficult,
• ignoring the directions of a police officer, including failing to leave a premises or move on when directed, and
• interfering in any way with the police arresting another person, such as a loved one or friend.

In this situation, if the person were to be charged, they would be brought before the court for criminal charges.  The court must then make a community service order ordering the offender to perform unpaid community service, unless they are convinced that the person suffers from a physical, intellectual or psychiatric disability which would preclude them from complying with the order[2].

The minimum amount of unpaid community service that must be ordered is 40 hours, and the maximum 240 hours[3].

Ordinarily, the court would have a range of other sentencing options available to them to deal with this behaviour which are far less onerous than community service.  Particularly, for first time offenders with a minor charge of obstruct police, community service is a serious and onerous obligation.

Community service requires a person to be under the supervision of Corrective Services for the period of the order (usually 12 months), or until the required hours of community service are completed.  Under the current legislation, the court is unable to impose any other despite this being an appropriate penalty.  Community service requires a person to report to and receive visits a corrective services officer when directed, notify a corrective services officer of any change in their address or employment within two days, and most importantly, not leave Queensland without the permission of a corrective services officer[4].

This is an incredibly serious consequence for hindering or ignoring a police officer’s directions when intoxicated, particularly for a first time offender.

How We Can Help

If you have been charged with assaulting or obstructing police, contact our Criminal & Traffic Law Team for assistance.

Contact Us

Get the best representation. Contact Quinn & Scattini Lawyers on 1800 999 529, email mail@rmold.newwebsite.live, or submit an enquiry below.

We are available to meet with you at any of our local offices (Brisbane, Gold Coast, Beenleigh, Cleveland and Jimboomba) or by telephone or video-conference.

This article is for your information and interest only. It is not intended to be comprehensive, and it does not constitute and must not be relied on as legal advice. You must seek specific advice tailored to your circumstances.

[1] Police Powers and Responsibilities Act (Qld), section 790
[2] Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 (Qld), section 108B
[3] Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 (Qld), section 103(2)
[4] Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 (Qld), section 103(1)