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Sentencing Act 2002

Sentences, orders, and related matters - Imprisonment

84: Guidance on use of cumulative and concurrent sentences of imprisonment

You could also call this:

"How the court decides if you serve prison sentences one after another or at the same time"

Illustration for Sentencing Act 2002

When you break the law and get sentenced to prison, the court decides how long you will be in prison. The court thinks about the types of crimes you committed when deciding your sentence. If you committed different types of crimes, you might get cumulative sentences, which means you serve the sentences one after the other.

If you committed crimes that are similar and happened around the same time, you might get concurrent sentences, which means you serve the sentences at the same time. The court looks at when the crimes happened and what they were like to decide if they are connected. The court also thinks about how the crimes are related to each other when deciding your sentence.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM136447.

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Crime and justice > Criminal lawCrime and justice > Courts and legal help
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83: Cumulative and concurrent sentences of imprisonment, or

"What happens when you get more than one prison sentence: can they be added together or served at the same time?"

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85: Court to consider totality of offending, or

"The court makes sure your total punishment is fair for all the wrong things you did."

Part 2Sentences, orders, and related matters
Imprisonment

84Guidance on use of cumulative and concurrent sentences of imprisonment

  1. Cumulative sentences of imprisonment are generally appropriate if the offences for which an offender is being sentenced are different in kind, whether or not they are a connected series of offences.

  2. Concurrent sentences of imprisonment are generally appropriate if the offences for which an offender is being sentenced are of a similar kind and are a connected series of offences.

  3. In determining for the purpose of this section whether 2 or more offences committed by 1 offender are a connected series of offences, the court may consider—

  4. the time at which they occurred; or
    1. the overall nature of the offending; or
      1. any other relationship between the offences that the court considers relevant.