❓ The Minister for Police provides an update on the impact of police pursuit legislation, highlighting its success in removing offenders from roads and supporting police officers. The Minister defends mandatory sentencing and criticizes judicial leniency.
AnsweredQoN 590Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
POLICE — PURSUIT LEGISLATION
590. MR N.W. MORTON to the
Minister for Police:
Can the minister please update the house on the impact of the
police pursuits legislation passed by this house last year?
590. MR N.W. MORTON to the
Minister for Police:
Can the minister please update the house on the impact of the
police pursuits legislation passed by this house last year?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Forrestfield
for this question and for his continued interest in law and order issues,
particularly issues of road safety and lawlessness on our roads. A lot of
members will recall that late last year —
Ms
M.M. Quirk interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Girrawheen, I call you to order for the second time.
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : A lot of members will recall that late last year we brought
legislation to this place that introduced mandatory penalties for people
charged with driving recklessly while being pursued by police or trying to
evade capture by police. Part of that legislation also introduced a defence for
police officers to ensure that when they were engaging in emergency driving
procedures and trying to get these particularly dangerous offenders off our
roads, they would have some protection afforded to them by this Liberal–National
government so that they can do the job we are asking them to do; that is, to
get these offenders off the roads and to get them behind bars, where they
belong. That legislation has been a huge success. It was proclaimed on 12 December
last year. One hundred and thirteen offenders are now off our roads and behind
bars—exactly where they belong—as a result of this legislation.
Although it is difficult to draw a link between the number of custodial
sentences over a period because the legislation has not yet been in place for a
12-month period, I am really pleased to say that I think that this has been
successful and that police now have the confidence to do the jobs that we
particularly want them to do.
The member for Forrestfield might be interested in the issues
we had getting this legislation passed through this house. In fact, the former
member for Forrestfield said in this house —
I will be quite happy and open and
honest to say that I am part of that Labor opposition that tends to rally
against things such as mandatory sentencing and the idea that we should take
discretion out of the courts.
I am really pleased that we now have a member for
Forrestfield who stands here firmly on the side of his constituents and on the
side generally of the community, and who is in step with the community to
ensure that people who drive recklessly while evading police will go to jail
for a mandatory minimum term of six months. This side of the house has always
been really tough. We have always introduced legislation that imposes a
requirement on the courts to give tougher sentences. We often rally against
members opposite who suggest that Parliament does not need to intervene by
introducing mandatory sentencing because the courts are indeed tough enough on
those offenders. But I do take exception to that particular line of thinking,
member for Forrestfield, because as recently as August this year a magistrate
in Kalgoorlie actually said her preference would have been not to have jailed
an offender who went to jail for a minimum mandatory term of six months for
evading police in Kalgoorlie in very dangerous circumstances with behaviour
that put road users' and police officers' lives at risk. The
magistrate said in the media that her preference would have been not to have
imposed a mandatory minimum jail term on that offender.
I am very pleased to have the opportunity to get on the
record that this Liberal–National government continues to stand behind
our police officers. We will continue to support the good work they do, and we
will also continue to bring legislation to this place that carries penalties
that will ensure that offenders who deserve to be behind bars and off our roads
and not endangering the community go to jail consistent with community
expectations.
for this question and for his continued interest in law and order issues,
particularly issues of road safety and lawlessness on our roads. A lot of
members will recall that late last year —
Ms
M.M. Quirk interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Girrawheen, I call you to order for the second time.
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : A lot of members will recall that late last year we brought
legislation to this place that introduced mandatory penalties for people
charged with driving recklessly while being pursued by police or trying to
evade capture by police. Part of that legislation also introduced a defence for
police officers to ensure that when they were engaging in emergency driving
procedures and trying to get these particularly dangerous offenders off our
roads, they would have some protection afforded to them by this Liberal–National
government so that they can do the job we are asking them to do; that is, to
get these offenders off the roads and to get them behind bars, where they
belong. That legislation has been a huge success. It was proclaimed on 12 December
last year. One hundred and thirteen offenders are now off our roads and behind
bars—exactly where they belong—as a result of this legislation.
Although it is difficult to draw a link between the number of custodial
sentences over a period because the legislation has not yet been in place for a
12-month period, I am really pleased to say that I think that this has been
successful and that police now have the confidence to do the jobs that we
particularly want them to do.
The member for Forrestfield might be interested in the issues
we had getting this legislation passed through this house. In fact, the former
member for Forrestfield said in this house —
I will be quite happy and open and
honest to say that I am part of that Labor opposition that tends to rally
against things such as mandatory sentencing and the idea that we should take
discretion out of the courts.
I am really pleased that we now have a member for
Forrestfield who stands here firmly on the side of his constituents and on the
side generally of the community, and who is in step with the community to
ensure that people who drive recklessly while evading police will go to jail
for a mandatory minimum term of six months. This side of the house has always
been really tough. We have always introduced legislation that imposes a
requirement on the courts to give tougher sentences. We often rally against
members opposite who suggest that Parliament does not need to intervene by
introducing mandatory sentencing because the courts are indeed tough enough on
those offenders. But I do take exception to that particular line of thinking,
member for Forrestfield, because as recently as August this year a magistrate
in Kalgoorlie actually said her preference would have been not to have jailed
an offender who went to jail for a minimum mandatory term of six months for
evading police in Kalgoorlie in very dangerous circumstances with behaviour
that put road users' and police officers' lives at risk. The
magistrate said in the media that her preference would have been not to have
imposed a mandatory minimum jail term on that offender.
I am very pleased to have the opportunity to get on the
record that this Liberal–National government continues to stand behind
our police officers. We will continue to support the good work they do, and we
will also continue to bring legislation to this place that carries penalties
that will ensure that offenders who deserve to be behind bars and off our roads
and not endangering the community go to jail consistent with community
expectations.
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