Page 3190 - Week 10 - Thursday, 17 September 2015
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obligations and pose a threat to the community. Similarly, the ability to photograph offenders is important for identification; for example, where they may have a distinctive tattoo or birth mark.
These amendments engage the right to privacy, but I note that there are various protections in place. For example, an order to photograph without consent has to come from a magistrate, who must be satisfied of various circumstances relating to the offender and the need for the photograph. A person being photographed also has the right to a support person. In relation to the release of a photo of an offender, this can only occur where the Chief Police Officer or deputy CPO believes on reasonable grounds that there may be risk to the lives or sexual safety of one or more people or of the community in general. The Chief Police Officer or the deputy CPO must also believe on reasonable grounds that publication of the notice will reduce this risk.
I also note that the amendments in this bill introduce some flexibility to the sex offender register. They will allow the Chief Police Officer to apply to a court for the registration of certain previous offenders. The idea here is that a person might have convictions for child sex offences prior to the establishment of the register and there is strong evidence that the person continues to pose a broad risk to children. This will only be available where the Chief Police Officer believes on reasonable grounds that the person is a previous offender and poses a risk to the lives or sexual safety of one or more people or of the community generally. The registration order will be made by the Magistrates Court.
In limited circumstances the Chief Police Officer will also be able to apply to the court to remove a registrable offender from the register. This is a positive step to ensure that offenders who are assessed as no longer likely to reoffend or engage in conduct that poses a risk to the lives or sexual safety of children are no longer required to report. This will mean police can direct their resources more efficiently. Before removing an offender, the Chief Police Officer is required to give notice to a victim and to consult with the Victims of Crime Commissioner. This ensures victims are heard and considered in any decision to remove an offender from the register.
A new amendment allows a registrable offender who was a young offender at the time of the offence to apply to the Magistrates Court to be removed from the register. The amendment recognises that the circumstances that deem a young offender as a registrable offender often indicate that there is no ongoing risk. The amendment recognises this and seeks to make sure that only appropriate registration occurs. I am interested to hear further about the government’s response to the suggestion from the scrutiny committee that, in fact, all offenders should be able to apply for this removal, not just young offenders.
This bill makes several other amendments which I do not intend to go into in detail. As I said, I look forward to seeing further information from the attorney in his response to the scrutiny committee and to proceeding with the detail stage of the bill at a later time. But I can indicate that I will be supporting this bill at the in-principle stage.
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