By Aneeka Simonis
NEW carjacking and home invasion legislation intends for more alleged offenders to be refused bail and, if convicted, serve longer jail terms as part of the state’s crackdown on scaling violent youth crimes.
However, youths who are released on bail would still free to run amok under current legislation which fails to punish under-18s for breaching bail conditions.
Anyone convicted of aggravated home invasion or aggravated carjacking will face at least three years in jail.
Carjacking will carry a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and those convicted of aggravated carjacking face a maximum penalty of 25 years.
Home invasion will have a maximum penalty of 25 years and aggravated home invasion.
The legislation includes a ‘presumption against bail’, meaning those accused will need to justify why they should not be remanded.
Police Minister Lisa Neville said the legislation responded to growing community fear relating the young gang crimes, particularly in the south-east.
“The community expects that police will have the powers and resources they need to target these criminals – and that’s exactly what we’re giving them,” she said.
The legislation was introduced on Wednesday 31 August – the same day the Opposition debated its carjacking Bill introduced in June.
Shadow Police and Corrections Minister Edward O’Donohue said the government’s policy wasn’t tough enough.
The Opposition’s Bill sets out a minimum five-year jail term for aggravated carjacking offenders and three years for carjacking offenders.
Mr O’Donohue said his party’s Bill didn’t make specifications on bail, but believed a crackdown on minimum sentencing will lead to an increase in remands.
“Because of the strong statutory minimum, we believe it will send a strong message to the court about the severity of the offence and that would reflect in the way the court (dealt with the matter),” he said.
The State Government’s tough crackdown on youth-driven crimes flies in the face of lax bail laws introduced earlier this year.
Minors who breach their bail conditions will now no longer attract further criminal charges.
The laws were changed in May to address the increasing numbers of young people on remand in juvenile detention centres.
The mum of a 16-year-old serious criminal offender from Pakenham blamed soft bail legislation for the quick unravelling of her son.
She said her boy had stolen cars and invaded homes – and that was all after he was charged with robbery and released on strict bail conditions including a nightly curfew.
“He says, ‘Why should I stay? They never check on me.’ I’ve told police to keep him. I told them, ‘If he gets out, he’ll do the same thing tomorrow.’ But they tell me they don’t have enough room,” his mum said.
Under-18s can still be brought before a court to have their bail revoked and still face charges for any offending while on bail under the laws.
