Stalking
This report is part of the Sentencing Spotlight series. These publications present statistics on sentencing outcomes for offences finalised in Queensland courts.
Our Sentencing Spotlight on unlawful stalking, defined under section 359E of the Criminal Code, provides insight into cases sentenced between July 2005 and June 2019.
Our research found:
- a total of 1,594 individuals were sentenced for 2,155 cases involving a stalking offence
- 1,698 cases where this was the most serious offence (MSO)
- 85.7% of offenders were male
- 8.4% of offenders were Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- the average age of offenders was 36.7 years
- 97% of offenders pleaded guilty
- of the adult offenders sentenced, 49.9% received a custodial penalty
- of the 2,155 cases sentenced, a restraining order was made in 900 cases (41.8%)
- 5.8% of those sentenced were repeat offenders
- females accounted for almost half of child offenders (46.7%).
Technical paper
Our technical paper explains important terminology, data sources, counting rules and methodologies for our research publications.
Download technical paper