Changes to the Penal System Reform Act will help judges recognise patterns of repeat offending, particularly in cases of domestic abuse, MP Kirk Humphrey has told the House of Assembly.
The proposed legislation, laid in the House on Tuesday by Minister of Home Affairs Gregory Nicholls, would allow judges to consider relevant past convictions when sentencing people who come before the courts.
Humphrey said: “Those cases where things are so directly relevant, where the patterns are so clear; in cases like that, that really come down to life and death for many women, that’s the truth. What should be the role of the court, and the central question I think is what should the court be allowed to remember.”
The former social care minister described the experience of a woman who repeatedly returned to an abusive relationship despite apologies, threats and physical violence before eventually going to the police.
But she felt the police did not take her seriously, he said. The case went to court, but the violent incidents continued three or four times.
While people should be allowed to rehabilitate themselves and change, this should not become “judicial amnesia”.
“It cannot be that a person who has clearly not changed, who continuously repeats the same offence or whose behaviour escalates over time is not considered in a way that would allow the court to make a different determination based on that escalation, based on the repeated nature of the offence. We cannot erase history.
“I feel that is a question that this bill really addresses. What should the court be allowed to remember?”
Humphrey said he supported the legislation if it would allow people to receive better justice.
He acknowledged concerns that considering someone’s past could amount to holding a grudge against them. However, he said this was not what the legislation was intended to do.
Instead, courts should be allowed to consider repeated, directly related behaviour.
“I am not proposing or suggesting that what I see here is a grudge but I do know that the court must be allowed in cases like this to remember and it is on that basis that I obviously support this legislation,” he said.
Humphrey also suggested the amendment could help address gun crime and other criminal behaviour.
“If you have a history, then that history should allow you to partake in an equitable distribution of justice, and I believe that this rights a wrong, that allows people to be able to be seen for who they are in relation to certain offences. I suspect it is going to help us a lot with our gun crimes too, and our criminal behaviour. I think it is very fair; I think it is intelligent. I think it is fairer than what exists. I even think that what currently exists, if we allow it to continue, might be failure.”
Humphrey appealed to fellow legislators to consider victims and the impact that repeat offending can have on public confidence.
“Having heard the facts, the court will make the determination. It is still the court that decides whether a person is guilty or not, but I ask that we think of the victim, and we think of the victim in the case that I raised. We think of the impact on the public’s confidence when we allow people to repeat behaviour.” (LG)
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