Page 2826 - Week 09 - Thursday, 13 August 2015
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The government is introducing this practical amendment in order to enhance ACT Policing’s ability to monitor registrable offenders and provide a further significant protection for the lives and sexual safety of children in the ACT. When issuing a warrant a magistrate must be satisfied on reasonable grounds that the registered offender has reported personal details incorrectly or breached an order prohibiting certain conduct or is likely to do either of these things.
The officer applying for the warrant will need to show why the registered offender is likely to report incorrectly or breach an order. This would include evidence that the registered offender has a history of similar breaches or was not cooperative with police on previous reporting occasions. The bill details the activity that is authorised by the proposed warrant, which includes searching premises and seizing things in or relevant to the warrant purposes. The warrant will also authorise an officer to seize other things that they believe on reasonable grounds to be connected with an offence punishable by 12 months imprisonment or more.
The bill clarifies that material obtained under the proposed entry and search powers is admissible in a proceeding under the child sex offenders act in relation to a class one or class two offence which is defined in the child sex offenders act and particularly relates to offences of a sexual nature against children. Evidence will also be admissible in relation to a proceeding under part 3.4 of the criminal code 2002 which deals with the provision of false or misleading information.
Limiting the admissibility of material obtained to these limited cases provides a balance of the rights of the offender to privacy with the rights of children to be protected against further sexual offences. The proposed maximum penalty for refusing to allow or assist police to enter premises will be imprisonment for five years, 500 penalty units or both. This penalty is consistent with other penalties in the child sex offenders act and provides a strong incentive for offenders to cooperate with police as they carry out their monitoring functions.
The bill also proposes that when making a warrant application a senior officer of the rank of sergeant or higher may apply to the court for an order requiring a registered offender to provide access to electronic data, to copy the data onto a storage device or to convert the data into documentary form. Although registered offenders are already required to routinely report details in relation to online profiles, this new power could require the registered offender to provide passwords and access codes to electronic devices.
Police require these powers to address continuous advancements in communications technology that provide offenders with secure access to potentially illegal material. This provision targets specific information particularly if held electronically that the offender may have hidden from an ordinary observer which the offender is required to unlock and provide access to police under the warrant.
If the offender refuses to provide access to electronic data, police are authorised to remain on the premises for up to four hours to attempt to access the information in question. This allows for the use of an expert who may need to use decryption
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