Appendix A
Sample offences for determining base values

Physical integrity

Range Section & Act Description Max Worst class of case
Top 172 CA Murder Life Act of terrorism causing multiple deaths, eg placing a suitcase bomb on board a domestic flight killing 40 crew and passengers.  
Middle 189(2) CA   Injuring with intent to injure   5 yrs The offender had been drinking for a sustained period at a bar and was asked to leave by the duty manager. The offender refused and had to be forcibly removed from the premises. The offender then hid outside and waited for the manager to lock up. The offender grabbed the victim from behind and subjected him to a sustained physical attack, inflicting serious injuries to his right leg. Victim unable to work for three months.  
Low 48 AA   Discharging firearm in public place   3 mths   The offender was a licensed gun owner who took part in a street protest. The offender took a rifle with him to the protest and kept it inside his jacket. Once the protestors were assembled outside Parliament, and during a particularly noisy point in the protest, he withdrew and discharged his rifle three times into the air. No one was injured as a result of the shots, although the shots did cause panic amongst some protestors.

Violation of a governmental interestTop

Range Section & Act Description Max Worst class of case
Top 74 CA   Treason   Life Coup in which the New Zealand government is overthrown through violent means. Several members of the cabinet, including the Prime Minister, and a number of government officials detained at gunpoint. Coup causes civil unrest and lawlessness. Overseas governments refuse to recognise the new administration. New Zealand becomes isolated in the international community.  
Middle 109(2) CA   Perjury 14 yrs The offender gave evidence at his brother’s trial on two counts of the rape and murder of two children. The offender gave evidence that the accused had spent two days tramping in dense bush at the time the murders took place. The evidence was crucial in the accused’s acquittal. CCTV evidence subsequently revealed that the accused was guilty, whereupon the offender was convicted of perjury.  
Low 23 SOA   Resisting constable acting in duty   3 mths   The offender, a newspaper photographer, took photos of a vehicle accident in which a male celebrity was injured. The offender was asked to move from scene by the emergency services. The offender refused and was arrested by police. He vigorously resisted the arrest, necessitating the involvement of 3 officers.  

Privacy and freedom from humiliation or offensive behaviourTop

Range Section & Act Description Max Worst class of case
Top 98 CA Dealing in slaves 14 yrs The offender arranged for the victim to be bought to New Zealand from Thailand to work as a prostitute. For three years the offender used the victim as a physical and sexual slave. She was regularly subject to physical assaults and degrading acts by the offender and a number of his associates. The offender attempted to sell the victim to an undercover police officer for $35,000, telling the officer that he would acquire full property rights over the victim.  
Middle 216J(1) CA   Publishing an intimate visual recording   3 yrs The victim voluntarily engaged in full sexual intercourse with the offender. Unbeknown to the victim, the offender had set up multiple video cameras in his bedroom. The offender used footage from the cameras to put together a two minute video clip of the intercourse which he then uploaded to several internet websites. He then made postings on a variety of websites directing people to the sites hosting the video footage.  
Low 27 SOA   Indecent exposure   3 mths   Offender was part of a street parade promoting a new strip club and was situated on top of a moving float. She and others on the float were topless, but on several occasions the offender indecently exposed herself. Many in the crowd were school children under 16 years of age.  

Material support and amenityTop

Range Section & Act Description Max Worst class of case
Top 260 CA   False accounting   10 yrs The offender was the Managing Director of an investment company. Over the course of three years she arranged for the company to draw down loans from a United States lender to the value of $6.3M. None of the loans were included in the annual company accounts. This allowed the company to show a healthy annual profit. In fact the company was running at a large loss and remained solvent only because of the unaccounted loans. Investors in the company collectively lost $11M.
Middle 271CA Diversion of water   5 yrs Two neighbouring farmers opposed each other over the construction of a new milking facility on one of the farmer’s land. As a result of this dispute the two farmers took a serious dislike of one another. In retaliation for a perceived slight, the offender illegally dammed and then diverted a stream which passed through both properties. The victim’s farm was wholly reliant on the stream for water supply for irrigation and animal water supplies. Despite continued requests from the victim to release the water, the offender refused to do so. As a result the victim’s farm suffered vast crop damage and caused distress and the death of large numbers of cattle. The total financial loss to the victim was $118,000.
Low 11 SOA Wilful damage 3 mths The offender is a member of a religious affiliation. He and his associate approached a house in order to interact with the occupants and provide books advocating their beliefs. At the scene of the offence, the offender became involved in a heated discussion with a male occupant. The discussion soon became a rowdy argument, and culminated with the offender kicking the occupant’s door as it was being closed, causing significant damage. The offender then threw his bag at the window of the house causing a crack in the window which had to be replaced. The repair bills for the damage was $487.

Impairment of collective welfareTop

Range Section & Act Description Max Worst class of case
Top 143 CA Bestiality 7 yrs The offender had sexual intercourse with sheep and goats over the course of two years. Evidence that many of the animals were physically assaulted and were distressed during the intercourse.  
Middle 206 CA   Bigamy 7 yrs The offender was convicted of five counts of bigamy. Over four years he married a total of six women. Only the first marriage was legally undertaken. The offender believes in a right to practice polygamy irrespective of the law. All women married to the offender (excluding the first) did so knowing that the offender was already married.  
Low 123 CA   Blasphemous libel   1 yr   The offender wrote statements that were highly critical of the Christian faith. Some of the comments were of a derogatory nature directed at core Christian beliefs. The offender distributed flyers upon which he had written his comments to those assembled for the funeral of a Catholic Bishop. The police arrested the offender. In their view, the leaflets were likely to lead to a breach of the peace.