The ROC penalty is most commonly used to deal with secondary offenses, especially where courts must dispose of a large number of counts that constitute a single pattern of offending, such as dishonesty offenses involving checks. The ROC penalty is much more common in local courts than in higher courts. On the other hand, the ROC penalty is quite rare as the primary penalty for an offender, especially in higher courts. While the ROC penalty has traditionally been viewed as an appropriate sentence for an offender who has served adequate time in custody on remand or for a previous sentence quashed on appeal, these are in fact its least common functions. Court use of the ROC penalty, as evidenced in sentencing statistics, is analyzed. 2 references and 1 figure