Page 4067 - Week 13 - Thursday, 31 October 2013
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Taking the matter to court can cost the community more than police dealing with the matter by issuing a fine. It can also be a poor use of police time, taking police away from pursuing more serious criminal matters. The proposed changes to the maximum quantity for a SCON is consistent with the harm minimisation approach to illicit drugs recognised in the ACT alcohol, tobacco and other drug strategy 2010-2014.
The bill will amend the offence of receiving stolen property to address issues with that offence noted by the ACT Court of Appeal. The amendment, which will provide that a chain of title does not need to be proved as an element of the offence, will also bring the ACT into line with other Australian jurisdictions.
The bill also amends forensic procedure legislation. Currently a practitioner performing an intimate forensic procedure must be the same sex as the person on whom the procedure is performed. The bill seeks to amend legislation so that a practitioner can perform an intimate forensic procedure on a suspect, serious offender or volunteer even if they are of the opposite sex to that person. However, the person must be asked for their consent to have the forensic procedure carried out by a practitioner of the opposite sex and they can refuse consent. If the person refuses consent, a practitioner of the same sex must perform the forensic procedure.
The bill will give powers to the courts and police to secure the attendance of a serious offender before a court for a forensic procedure application hearing. A forensic procedure may be carried out on a serious offender in order to obtain evidence relevant to unsolved crimes. Experience in Australia suggests that a small percentage of the population is responsible for the majority of crime. Forensic information can be entered onto the national criminal investigation DNA database to be used by commonwealth, state and territory law enforcement agencies in criminal investigations.
This amendment is important as it is generally not appropriate for this type of matter to proceed without the serious offender present at the hearing. If a person does not consent to an intimate procedure, they should have the right to have the issue considered by a court.
This bill will also provide that police officers can issue infringement notices to young people for minor criminal offences without complying with certain current safeguards, such as contacting the young person’s parents before issuing the notice. The proposed amendment only applies to offences at the minor end of the scale of criminal conduct, such as urinating in public and certain Liquor Act offences. The changes are appropriate in light of existing safeguards, such as the fact that a young person can dispute a criminal infringement notice.
The bill also introduces a requirement to register firearm frames and receivers. These major component parts of firearms are currently regulated under the Firearms Act and can only be purchased from licensed firearms dealers. It is important to further regulate these major parts because they can be used to manufacture complete firearms.
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