The Minister for Justice defends the government's reduced imprisonment strategy, asserting it applies only to low-level offenders and that policies for serious offenders have been toughened, criticising the previous Liberal government's approach.

AnsweredQoN 1219Legislative Assembly
Asked
23 October 2003
Portfolio
Justice

QuestionView source ↗

Will the minister abandon the Government’s reduced imprisonment strategy to ensure public safety comes first in this State? Mrs M.H. ROBERTS

AnswerView source ↗

Public safety certainly does come first in this State and there is nothing in the Government’s reduced imprisonment policy that would let serious offenders cause a problem in the community. The Government’s reduced imprisonment policy has been about low-level offenders. The policy for serious offenders has been toughened up, and, on 31 August, we got rid of the soft policies of the Liberal Party that introduced prison home detention. The member for Nedlands criticised that, and in the paper this morning she was criticising her own Government. We have been about fixing the errors of the former Government; we have been about being tougher on serious criminals; and this report further validates the Government’s actions.
Mrs M.H. ROBERTS replied: Public safety certainly does come first in this State and there is nothing in the Government’s reduced imprisonment policy that would let serious offenders cause a problem in the community. The Government’s reduced imprisonment policy has been about low-level offenders. The policy for serious offenders has been toughened up, and, on 31 August, we got rid of the soft policies of the Liberal Party that introduced prison home detention. The member for Nedlands criticised that, and in the paper this morning she was criticising her own Government. We have been about fixing the errors of the former Government; we have been about being tougher on serious criminals; and this report further validates the Government’s actions.
Public safety certainly does come first in this State and there is nothing in the Government’s reduced imprisonment policy that would let serious offenders cause a problem in the community. The Government’s reduced imprisonment policy has been about low-level offenders. The policy for serious offenders has been toughened up, and, on 31 August, we got rid of the soft policies of the Liberal Party that introduced prison home detention. The member for Nedlands criticised that, and in the paper this morning she was criticising her own Government. We have been about fixing the errors of the former Government; we have been about being tougher on serious criminals; and this report further validates the Government’s actions.

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