What types of penalties are there for committing a criminal offence? The maximum penalty for committing a particular offence is usually set out in the legislation of the relevant offence. The court will decide what sentence (i.e. penalties) to be imposed on an offender by taking into consideration all the relevant factors including for example the nature of the offence, the maximum penalty set out in the legislation, why and how the offence was committed, and the individual circumstances of the offender.