People who commit serious crimes while on ‘ice’ should be treated the same as terrorists, South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon says
PEOPLE who commit serious crimes while under the influence of the drug ice should be treated the same as terrorists, Senator Nick Xenophon says, as he calls for tighter bail laws in South Australia.
PEOPLE who commit serious crimes while under the influence of the drug ice should be treated the same as terrorists, Senator Nick Xenophon says, as he calls for tighter bail laws in South Australia.
Senator Xenophon yesterday called for an urgent review of SA’s bail laws, classing the current ones as “deficient” because some bail applicants were being let out even though they were known to abuse ice.
“I will be working with my colleague, (state MLC) John Darley, to introduce changes to bail laws in South Australia – to call for a national overhaul of bail law changes but also to address the scourge of ice.
“We need to consider having preventive detention laws, in the same way that is used for terrorists, for those that commit dangerous offences whilst on the drug ice.
“A meth lab has the same potential to cause harm to the community, to cost lives as a terrorist cell and it’s about time that we had laws to reflect that.”
Senator Xenophon was accompanied by the country’s most senior parole board chair, Frances Nelson QC, who said about 80 per cent of parole applicants had a substance abuse problem.
She said every state needed tougher laws that would send offenders who abused ice to mandatory rehabilitation centres.
“Of those (80 per cent of) prisoners, nearly all of them have a marijuana problem but also have an amphetamine problem and we’re seeing more and more amphetamine problems now,” Ms Nelson said.
“Prisoners tell me frequently (ice) is extremely addictive, even one use can lead to an addiction and the effect on that person who uses it, their families and the victims in the communities is disastrous.
“In my view, and I speak from experience, we need a residential facility to deal with people who have a drug problem. It’s not possible to deal with it in the community.
“I’d rather see us preventing crime in the first place and having fewer victims in the community.”
Tougher laws would place further stress on the state’s prison population, which continues to grow rapidly. But Senator Xenophon said community safety had to be the priority.
The SA prison population was 3034 yesterday, leaving only 33 beds available across the state.
Attorney-General John Rau said he was open to all suggestions for making the SA community a safer one.
“A broad reform of the criminal justice system is already underway and no part of the system including bail laws, are excluded from this process,” he said.
“I am open to any sensible suggestion for reform to our bail system that serves to make our community safer.”
