Page 1390 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 9 May 2006
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number of orders as part of a whole sentence. For example, a court may impose a sentence combining full-time imprisonment with a period of periodic detention, followed by a good behaviour order with a community service condition. This approach maximises the prospect of rehabilitation while retaining necessary supervision of an offender.
The government regards imprisonment as an important sentencing option. However, there is no point in having such an onerous penalty if it is not used to maximise rehabilitation. That brings me to the issue of the new ACT prison. The government’s commitment to an ACT prison, as I will speak to further, is also part of maximising rehabilitation.
Another method of making the most of imprisonment is periodic detention. Periodic detention allows for both the imposition of a custodial sentence and the maintenance of an offender’s positive contribution to the community, such as family life, work or study. The new acts link periodic detention to a sentence of imprisonment. A court may allow an offender to serve a full-time sentence of imprisonment by way of periodic detention.
If an offender breaches periodic detention obligations, the government’s new laws enable the Sentence Administration Board to order that the person experience full-time detention for a couple of weeks. If you do not show up for periodic detention, you will get some full-time detention to see how you like the feel of it. Hopefully, that would encourage you to go back onto periodic detention. That way, the offender sees the difference and it creates a distinct incentive for offenders to engage in rehabilitation and positive behaviour.
The current sentencing laws enable a range of non-custodial orders to be imposed by a court. Although these dispositions are an important part of effective sentencing, the supervision of these orders does not use a consistent method. The new acts solve that problem by enabling good behaviour orders to be the vehicle for a range of conditions that can be set by the court; for example, a condition that the offender engage in community service work or participate in a rehabilitation program. The court will have the discretion to impose any particular conditions it wishes in a good behaviour order.
Using one type of order as a vehicle for a spectrum of conditions will simplify the procedure for making orders, varying orders and fixing breaches. The obligations upon the offender are common to all of the conditions, and this helps the courts, prosecutors, defence lawyers, offenders, corrections staff and the public to know exactly what is expected, irrespective of the substance of the order.
The government has also enacted non-association orders and place restriction orders to improve the safety of victims, particularly victims of domestic violence and personal violence. A non-association order is an order prohibiting an offender from associating with a specified person for a specified time. A place restriction order is an order prohibiting an offender from frequenting or visiting a specified place or district for a specified time. These orders can be made if a court is dealing with an offence that involves harm against a person and the court believes that an order will prevent further offences or harassment. These orders will be available to the court if the offender is subject to periodic detention or a good behaviour order.
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