NSW Announces Big Justices Reform Measures
Thursday 11 May 2017 @ 9.44 a.m. | Crime | Judiciary, Legal Profession & Procedure | Legal Research
In a joint Media Release headed "Tough and Smart Justice Reforms Delivering Safer Communities" dated 9 May 2017, the Attorney General, Mark Speakman, the Minister for Police, Troy Grant, and the Minister for Corrections, David Elliott, promised a series of tougher and smarter justice reforms that will according to the NSW Government:
- deliver justice more quickly to communities and victims;
- strengthen sentencing options; and
- ensure offenders are rigorously supervised when serving community orders.
The proposed reforms are said to be linked to over $200 million which is to be spent on additional corrections officers and measures to keep the community safe. The NSW government argues that following from the proposed increase of staff ". . . offenders in the community will be under active supervision and tougher conditions designed to prevent re-offending".
The Key Reforms
The key reforms are stated in the Media Release as being:
- Changes to Parole: The State Parole Authority will be able to decide "no body, no parole", and the courts will have stronger sentencing options and radicalisation will be considered in parole decisions.
- Changes to Guilty Pleas: Early guilty pleas will help reduce court delays, allowing victims to get on with their lives and returning police to frontline duties.
- Increased Supervision of Offenders: More offenders in the community will be actively supervised, and Community Corrections Officers will have clear authority to impose sanctions in real time.
More detail on the reforms can be found at the NSW Justice Departments - web page.
Explanation of the Reforms by the Ministers
The NSW Attorney General describes the reforms as:
" . . . common sense reforms that will create a tougher, smarter and safer NSW justice system, . . . They will act as a cornerstone to building a safer state which means less crime in your local community."
The Minister for Police describes the reforms as being aimed to reduce crime to allow
enforcement to get on with protecting the community:
"The Government's tough stance aims to reduce crime, allowing police officers to get on with their job of protecting the community."
The Minister for Corrections indicated the parole system is being strengthened requiring
courts to "consider intelligence on an offender's associations" when making a decision on parole, saying:
"The State Parole Authority must now take into account whether an offender sentenced for murder or manslaughter has disclosed the location of the victim's remains, giving offenders an incentive to bring closure to victims' families. An offender's radicalisation would also be considered during parole, even if they are not serving a sentence for terrorism offences . . .".
When the Changes Come About
According to the NSW Government's Media Release, the legislation is intended to be introduced into Parliament this year (2017) and is supported by the NSW Government’s expenditure of $3.8 billion on its prison infrastructure plan which is expected to add thousands of extra inmate beds across the system.
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