❓ Question regarding the Attorney General's view on the seriousness of home burglary and sexual assault in relation to DNA testing impact, and a supplementary question on prison closures. The Attorney General affirms the seriousness of the crimes.
AnsweredQoN 461Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
As a supplementary question, how does the Attorney General reconcile his answer with the statement made in last year’s estimates by the Director of Public Prosecutions that - . . . the areas on which DNA testing will have the greatest potential impact is the home burglary and sexual assault areas. Is the Attorney General saying that he considers those types of criminals to be minor offenders? Mr J.A. McGINTY
AnswerView source ↗
I would have thought the answer to that was patently obvious; that is, no. Those people are very serious offenders. People who commit serious crimes in this State should be severely punished. I note the remarkably good efforts by the Police Service under the leadership of my good friend the Minister for Police and Emergency Services. The Police Service has dramatically increased its clearance rate and made the community safer, and that has therefore contributed to the increase in the prison population. However, we have not yet seen a dramatic impact from the area of DNA testing, although we have seen some great successes by the police in back capture and finding people who committed offences a number of years ago. Over time that testing will contribute to the locking up of people who should be locked up, and I will happily be the minister responsible for that. It does not present me with a problem whatsoever. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan: Does the Attorney General agree with the member for Bunbury that the Labor Party is hypocritical because of what it is doing in regard to the closure of the prisons? The SPEAKER: There is room for only one supplementary question.
Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: I would have thought the answer to that was patently obvious; that is, no. Those people are very serious offenders. People who commit serious crimes in this State should be severely punished. I note the remarkably good efforts by the Police Service under the leadership of my good friend the Minister for Police and Emergency Services. The Police Service has dramatically increased its clearance rate and made the community safer, and that has therefore contributed to the increase in the prison population. However, we have not yet seen a dramatic impact from the area of DNA testing, although we have seen some great successes by the police in back capture and finding people who committed offences a number of years ago. Over time that testing will contribute to the locking up of people who should be locked up, and I will happily be the minister responsible for that. It does not present me with a problem whatsoever. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan: Does the Attorney General agree with the member for Bunbury that the Labor Party is hypocritical because of what it is doing in regard to the closure of the prisons? The SPEAKER: There is room for only one supplementary question.
I would have thought the answer to that was patently obvious; that is, no. Those people are very serious offenders. People who commit serious crimes in this State should be severely punished. I note the remarkably good efforts by the Police Service under the leadership of my good friend the Minister for Police and Emergency Services. The Police Service has dramatically increased its clearance rate and made the community safer, and that has therefore contributed to the increase in the prison population. However, we have not yet seen a dramatic impact from the area of DNA testing, although we have seen some great successes by the police in back capture and finding people who committed offences a number of years ago. Over time that testing will contribute to the locking up of people who should be locked up, and I will happily be the minister responsible for that. It does not present me with a problem whatsoever. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan: Does the Attorney General agree with the member for Bunbury that the Labor Party is hypocritical because of what it is doing in regard to the closure of the prisons? The SPEAKER: There is room for only one supplementary question.
Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan: Does the Attorney General agree with the member for Bunbury that the Labor Party is hypocritical because of what it is doing in regard to the closure of the prisons? The SPEAKER: There is room for only one supplementary question.
The SPEAKER: There is room for only one supplementary question.
Mr J.A. McGINTY replied: I would have thought the answer to that was patently obvious; that is, no. Those people are very serious offenders. People who commit serious crimes in this State should be severely punished. I note the remarkably good efforts by the Police Service under the leadership of my good friend the Minister for Police and Emergency Services. The Police Service has dramatically increased its clearance rate and made the community safer, and that has therefore contributed to the increase in the prison population. However, we have not yet seen a dramatic impact from the area of DNA testing, although we have seen some great successes by the police in back capture and finding people who committed offences a number of years ago. Over time that testing will contribute to the locking up of people who should be locked up, and I will happily be the minister responsible for that. It does not present me with a problem whatsoever. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan: Does the Attorney General agree with the member for Bunbury that the Labor Party is hypocritical because of what it is doing in regard to the closure of the prisons? The SPEAKER: There is room for only one supplementary question.
I would have thought the answer to that was patently obvious; that is, no. Those people are very serious offenders. People who commit serious crimes in this State should be severely punished. I note the remarkably good efforts by the Police Service under the leadership of my good friend the Minister for Police and Emergency Services. The Police Service has dramatically increased its clearance rate and made the community safer, and that has therefore contributed to the increase in the prison population. However, we have not yet seen a dramatic impact from the area of DNA testing, although we have seen some great successes by the police in back capture and finding people who committed offences a number of years ago. Over time that testing will contribute to the locking up of people who should be locked up, and I will happily be the minister responsible for that. It does not present me with a problem whatsoever. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan: Does the Attorney General agree with the member for Bunbury that the Labor Party is hypocritical because of what it is doing in regard to the closure of the prisons? The SPEAKER: There is room for only one supplementary question.
Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan: Does the Attorney General agree with the member for Bunbury that the Labor Party is hypocritical because of what it is doing in regard to the closure of the prisons? The SPEAKER: There is room for only one supplementary question.
The SPEAKER: There is room for only one supplementary question.
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