Page 2447 - Week 08 - Thursday, 5 August 2021
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The current penalty for a theft offence is a maximum penalty: 1000 penalty units, imprisonment for 10 years or both. The person receiving the goods also holds a maximum penalty: 1000 penalty units, imprisonment for 10 years or both.
5) The ACT Government does not provide funding for programs specific to reducing the theft of catalytic convertors. However, ACT Policing does make referrals to the Restorative Justice Unit as an option for offenders for ‘less serious offences’, an option that is able to provide an offence specific justice response, as well as the opportunity for those impacted by the offence to be involved in the justice process.
The ACT Government has invested in the Outsmart the Offender campaign. This is a crime prevention campaign that includes practical tips for the community to help raise awareness about property crime prevention. While not specifically aimed at reducing the theft of catalytic convertors, car theft is one of the focusses of the campaign.
6) The ACT Government does not currently specifically regulate sales of catalytic convertors to scrap metal merchants. However, a person receiving stolen goods holds a maximum penalty: 1000 penalty units, imprisonment for 10 years or both. A corporation receiving stolen goods holds a maximum penalty: 1000 penalty units. In accordance with section 133 of the Legislation Act 2001 the value of a penalty unit for an individual is $160 and for a corporation is $810.
7) There is currently no intention to introduce regulations specific to catalytic convertors, as this is an emerging issue in the ACT and nationally. However, the ACT Government may consider measures that could assist in reducing catalytic convertor thefts if this continues to be an issue.
The ACT Government contributes annual funding to the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council (NMVTRC), which is currently working closely with states and territories to reduce profit motivated theft related to motor vehicles. Some of the countermeasures in the NMVTRC strategic plan broadly related to catalytic converters include:
• protect legitimate trading by encouraging the development of industry-led commercial agreements between insurers, repairers and recyclers, and consumer education;
• reform scrap metal (second-hand dealing) laws in select jurisdictions;
• facilitate progression towards a secure and environmentally sound vehicle decommissioning system for end-of-life vehicles;
• conduct in-depth intelligence assessments of the export of stolen vehicles and parts;
• continue to manage written-off vehicle reform and optimise consumer awareness of stolen and written off vehicle information;
• improve vehicle identification (through the management of high-risk mine vehicles and maintaining dialogue with Commonwealth in respect of mandatory vehicle identification standards); and
• facilitate intelligence gathering and information sharing between police services.
8) The ACT Government has not consulted the relevant industry sectors in relation to this matter at this stage.
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