Review shows mandatory sentencing laws target chronic offenders

15/11/01
A review of Western Australia's 'mandatory sentencing' laws - introduced five years ago - has found the overwhelming majority of those convicted under the laws have an appalling history of offending.
The report found the juveniles caught by the laws had, on average, 50 prior convictions. One offender had been convicted of 184 previous offences.
Despite this, 17 per cent of the juvenile offenders were not sentenced to detention under 'mandatory' sentencing.
Attorney General Jim McGinty said the report showed there was considerable flexibility in the system as the judiciary could still impose a non-custodial sentence where this was considered more appropriate. This had occurred on 22 occasions from a total of 143 convictions.
However, in many cases, Mr McGinty said detention was the only appropriate way to protect the community.
"These are people with very serious repeat offending," he said.
"If there is a glimmer of hope, the judiciary can still divert them from detention, but in most cases, they represent a real threat to the community that must be addressed."
Unlike the recently repealed Northern Territory laws for minor property offences, Mr McGinty said the WA laws only related to the very serious offence of home burglary.
Offenders must have at least three convictions for home burglary, although the report found that most offenders had considerably more than this.
On average, juveniles sentenced under the laws have prior convictions for 21 burglary offences. The worst case involved an offender with 112 previous burglary convictions. Only one offender had the minimum two prior burglary convictions.
The report also found that 81 per cent of the offenders were Aboriginal and 60 per cent were from the country.
Mr McGinty said the report showed that only a tiny fraction of juvenile offenders were being convicted under the mandatory sentencing laws. The 143 convictions compared with over 13,000 juveniles convicted of various offences.
The Attorney General said he was satisfied the laws were targeting a very real problem with serious property offences. However, he was concerned by the disproportionate impact on Aboriginal people, particularly in country areas.
Media contact: Amanda O'Brien on 9220 5000