Law Society of SA raises ‘civil liberties’ concern over proposal to fit GPS trackers onto abuse-accused

The Law Society has raised concerns over a proposal to track alleged abusers with GPS devices before they have been charged or convicted of any crime.

A proposal forcing alleged domestic violence abusers to wear tracking devices before they have been charged or convicted of a crime may impinge on personal freedoms, the state’s peak law body warns.

The SA Law Society has urged consideration of other strategies that would act more effectively to deter accused offenders from breaching intervention orders “without curtailing their civil liberties”.

Attorney-General Vickie Chapman has written to SA Police and the Correctional Services Department about a proposed law change that would enable electronic monitoring of alleged abusers placed on court-imposed intervention orders. Under Ms Chapman’s proposal, the courts could require people on such an order to wear a GPS tracking bracelet.

SA Law Society president Rebecca Sandford said it would have concerns with any scheme that automatically imposed electronic monitoring on people, who had been issued with a court-ordered intervention order, before being found guilty of an offence.

A GPS tracker such as those used on accused criminals released on home detention bail.

“Each matter would need to be considered on its individual circumstances and the court be empowered to make an appropriate decision based on the potential risk to the protected person in each case,” she said. “It should be noted that, currently, those who breach an intervention order can be refused bail if they are deemed to present a danger to the applicant, or they can be put on home-detention bail and be made to wear a tracking device.

“Other strategies to more effectively deter people from breaching intervention orders without unduly curtailing their civil liberties should also be examined.” Ms Sandford said intervention orders must be accompanied by far-reaching, holistic education programs.

Ms Chapman said the proposed changes could help victims by “adding an extra layer of protection”, and similar methods work effectively in other jurisdictions. She is now seeking the views of justice agencies on the operational requirements of the proposal.

Opposition spokeswoman for the prevention of family violence Katrine Hildyard said while Labor supported the consideration of any new measures to keep women and children safe, it was important that the laws were workable.

“Under Labor’s legislation, already introduced to parliament, alleged offenders charged with serious domestic violence offences would be required to wear an electronic monitoring device while on bail,” Ms Hildyard said.