THE judge said a jail term should never have been imposed and even the prosecution sought no further punishment than a criminal conviction and a good behaviour bond.

But according to the NSW Opposition, Cheyene Back, 18, who has no criminal history but was sentenced to jail for drawing graffiti on a cafe wall, should be behind bars.

"We need to put fear into people's lives," said the Opposition's justice spokesman, Greg Smith. "To just slap people on the wrist and give people a good behaviour bond, or even less than that, the problem really is that there's not any enforcement of the laws."

Ms Back pleaded guilty to writing the word "2shie" on the wall of the Hyde Park Cafe on January 11. Downing Centre Local Court magistrate Ian McRae sentenced her to three months' jail.

Yesterday she won an appeal against the severity of the sentence. Judge Greg Hosking in the District Court wiped her criminal record and put her on a 12-month good behaviour bond. The judge said he did not condone vandalism but the law clearly stated jail terms should be imposed only when no other penalties were appropriate.