Jersey Unreported Judgments

[2005]JRC154

ROYAL COURT

(Samedi Division)

4^th November 2005

The Attorney General

-v-

Kayleigh Anne Baker

Sentencing by the Inferior Number of the Royal Court, on guilty pleas to:

Age:  18.

Plea: Guilty.

Details of Offence:

Count 1, entered private house in St Aubin through unlatched door.  Stole two bottles of pills from bathroom.  Caught by occupier on her way downstairs; ran off down road; eventually apprehended at other end of village. 

Count 2, entered private quarters of public house in Colomberie.  Remained in bathroom for some half an hour.

In both cases told occupier she was hiding from boyfriend.

Details of Mitigation:

Drug addict.  First injected heroin at age eleven; gave no explanation for behaviour; now showing signs of maturity by displaying intention to give up offending.  Previous probation performance poor.

Previous Convictions:

56 offences from 15 separate convictions includes 27 theft offences.

Conclusions:

Sentence and Observations of Court:

Counts 1 and 2: 12 months' Probation and 12 months' Treatment Order.

R. Morris, Esq., Crown Advocate.

Advocate J. Gollop for the Defendant.

JUDGMENT

THE DEPUTY BAILIFF:

1.        Kayleigh Baker until you conquer your heroin addiction the outlook is quite bleak for you.  You will find yourself going in to prison or youth custody again and again. 

2.        The Magistrate gave you a chance in June, but you let him down, and much more importantly you let yourself down, but despite this the Probation Service and the Drug and Alcohol Service really think that you are now motivated to try and change and to overcome your heroin addiction and the reports from Longreach were very encouraging from there until you relapsed.

3.        The Court after some hesitation is going to accept the recommendations made.  We think the best way of trying to prevent you from re-offending is to help you conquer your heroin addiction.  The best way to do that is with the help outside prison of the various authorities.  We are going to place you on probation for 12 months and we are going to make a treatment order for 12 months which means that you must attend the Alcohol and Drugs Service as they direct; you must remain free of heroin; and most particularly you will be subject to random tests. 

4.        If you do not do what they say or commit any further offences you will be brought back here and it seems extremely likely if that happens you will have to go to prison even though you have already spent some time there.  We would mention one matter though; we are keen that you should have employment.  We think that if you can gain employment this will help.  We are a little concerned to hear that your employment might be bar work.  We think that is an area where you might be tempted and we would certainly ask the Probation Service to work carefully with you as to whether this is really the right place for you to obtain employment.  Drugs can be easily obtainable there and you might be tempted, whereas if you could find employment somewhere in a less tempting area the chances of your keeping clean might be better.

5.        We are giving you a chance and we hope you take advantage of it.  It is up to you.  So it is a Probation Order on all counts.

No Authorities