❓ Opposition MP Michael Mischin questions the Attorney General's stance on mandatory chemical castration for dangerous repeat sex offenders, referencing a past statement. The Attorney General's response outlines current legislation and practices, including the use of libido-limiting medication on a case-by-case basis and provides statistics on released offenders.
AnsweredQoN 214Legislative Council
Asked
20 March 2019
Member
Portfolio
Leader of the House representing the Attorney General
QuestionView source ↗
DANGEROUS SEXUAL OFFENDERS
— CHEMICAL CASTRATION
214. Hon MICHAEL MISCHIN to the Leader of the House
representing the Attorney General:
I refer to the Attorney General's
claims reported in PerthNow on 18 August 2012, while he was shadow Attorney General,
that it should be mandatory for dangerous repeat sex offenders to undergo
chemical castration before being released, and specifically his remark —
''Without
this, the danger to our children far outweighs any consideration or concerns of
the offenders,'' �
(1) Does he maintain the view that all dangerous
repeat sex offenders should undergo chemical castration before release, or was that just another of his comments
made to pretend to the public that he was tough on criminals?
(2) If he meant
what he said, what steps has he taken to ensure that all dangerous repeat sex
offenders undergo chemical castration before release?
(3) How many
dangerous repeat sex offenders have been released during his term of office
without having been chemically castrated?
(4) If he does not maintain that
view, why not?
— CHEMICAL CASTRATION
214. Hon MICHAEL MISCHIN to the Leader of the House
representing the Attorney General:
I refer to the Attorney General's
claims reported in PerthNow on 18 August 2012, while he was shadow Attorney General,
that it should be mandatory for dangerous repeat sex offenders to undergo
chemical castration before being released, and specifically his remark —
''Without
this, the danger to our children far outweighs any consideration or concerns of
the offenders,'' �
(1) Does he maintain the view that all dangerous
repeat sex offenders should undergo chemical castration before release, or was that just another of his comments
made to pretend to the public that he was tough on criminals?
(2) If he meant
what he said, what steps has he taken to ensure that all dangerous repeat sex
offenders undergo chemical castration before release?
(3) How many
dangerous repeat sex offenders have been released during his term of office
without having been chemically castrated?
(4) If he does not maintain that
view, why not?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the
honourable member for some notice of the question.
(1)–(4) The government has introduced a range of amendments
to the Dangerous Sexual Offenders Act 2006 and will continue to
regularly consider this legislation to ensure that it provides a high level of
protection to the community. Chemical castration can include libido-limiting
medication, which is required on a case-by-case basis. Some offenders are
required to take libido-limiting medication as a condition of their supervision
order as determined by the court. However, not all DSOs are able to be
administered some form of medication due to underlying medical issues or
because the nature of their offending is such that reducing their libido is not
considered relevant to reducing their risk of sexual recidivism.
Between 13 March 2017 and 13 March
2019—bearing in mind that this question was lodged on 12 March 2019—as
accurately as can be determined on short notice, 10 DSOs were released into the
community on supervision orders, with five of those DSOs being released into
the community with no condition mandating their use of anti-libidinal
medication. Further, one of the 10 DSOs released to community supervision is
now deceased. Four DSOs had their supervision orders amended following
contravention proceedings, with two of those DSOs being released into the
community with no condition mandating their
use of anti-libidinal medication. One of those two DSOs is now deceased. No
DSOs released in this period have been charged with committing any sex offences
since their release on supervision orders.
honourable member for some notice of the question.
(1)–(4) The government has introduced a range of amendments
to the Dangerous Sexual Offenders Act 2006 and will continue to
regularly consider this legislation to ensure that it provides a high level of
protection to the community. Chemical castration can include libido-limiting
medication, which is required on a case-by-case basis. Some offenders are
required to take libido-limiting medication as a condition of their supervision
order as determined by the court. However, not all DSOs are able to be
administered some form of medication due to underlying medical issues or
because the nature of their offending is such that reducing their libido is not
considered relevant to reducing their risk of sexual recidivism.
Between 13 March 2017 and 13 March
2019—bearing in mind that this question was lodged on 12 March 2019—as
accurately as can be determined on short notice, 10 DSOs were released into the
community on supervision orders, with five of those DSOs being released into
the community with no condition mandating their use of anti-libidinal
medication. Further, one of the 10 DSOs released to community supervision is
now deceased. Four DSOs had their supervision orders amended following
contravention proceedings, with two of those DSOs being released into the
community with no condition mandating their
use of anti-libidinal medication. One of those two DSOs is now deceased. No
DSOs released in this period have been charged with committing any sex offences
since their release on supervision orders.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.