Commentary on Sections Part 2 - Criminal Law Section 29 – Offences aggravated by connection with serious organised crime
135.Section 29 makes provision about a statutory aggravation which applies in cases where an accused commits an offence connected with serious organised crime. Subsection (1) provides that section 29 applies where an indictment or complaint libels or specifies that an offence is aggravated by a connection with serious organised crime and it is subsequently proved that the offence is aggravated in that way.
136.Section 29(2) explains the circumstances in which an offence can be regarded to have been aggravated by a connection with serious organised crime. This relies on proof that the accused was motivated, in whole or in part, by the objective of committing or conspiring to commit serious organised crime. In terms of subsection (3), it is not material to the matter of establishing the accused’s motivation whether or not the accused actually enabled a person to commit serious organised crime (as defined in section 28(2)).
137.Section 29(4) specifies that the normal rules on corroboration in criminal proceedings do not apply to establishing the aggravation. Evidence from a single source is sufficient proof.
138.Section 29(5) sets out the steps the court must take when it is libelled in an indictment or specified in a complaint that an offence is aggravated by a connection with serious organised crime and proved that the offence is so aggravated. In addition to a number of formal matters, the court must take the aggravation into account in determining the appropriate sentence.