New jail laws to keep evil extremists caged in wake of global terror attacks

NEW laws designed to keep dangerous terrorists in prison after their jail sentences expire will be fast-tracked in the wake of the recent spate of global terror attacks.

New laws designed to keep dangerous terrorists in prison will be fast-tracked.

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NEW laws designed to keep dangerous terrorists in prison after their jail sentences expire will be fast-tracked in the wake of the recent spate of global terror attacks.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has written to state and territory leaders requesting a meeting of ­attorneys-general to design the post-sentencing detention scheme.

High-risk terrorist offenders, who authorities believe are still a ­national security risk, would be held indefinitely after their sentence expires under the legislation, which received in-principle agreement at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in April.

Priority... Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull with US Vice President Joe Biden last week. Picture:AFP

The court-supervised process would be similar to laws that apply to sex offenders and extremely violent criminals in certain states.

Mr Turnbull phoned premiers and chief ministers yesterday, informing them he wanted the laws implemented as a priority in the wake of a staggering 40 terrorist ­attacks worldwide in the past year.

Commonwealth agencies have been working with the states since the April agreement but the process will now be expedited to ensure it is legislated across all jurisdictions.

Convicted terrorists could potentially be held in jail for life if it is deemed they have not been rehabilitated or still pose a risk.

MUNICH: An 18-year-old German man of Iranian descent shot nine people dead and wounded at least 16.

NICE: 84 died in the recent atrocity in the south of France.

In his letter to state and territory leaders, Mr Turnbull described the process as a “significant public safety and security issue”.

“Our governments must do all we can to protect the community from individuals posing a high risk of reoffending and/or those in need of continued rehabilitation,’’ Mr Turnbull wrote.

“The guiding principles of a post-sentence preventive detention scheme would be that it cover high-risk terrorist offenders and contain appropriate procedural protections and safeguards.

“To progress this work, I have asked the Attorney-General to convene a meeting of all the state and territory attorneys-general as soon as practicable to consider the proposed scheme and ensure legislation can be introduced quickly.”

The drafting of the law would be co-ordinated by the commonwealth but implemented by each individual state and territory jurisdiction.

The development comes just days after Mr Turnbull ordered counter-terrorism chief Greg Moriarty to conduct a review of all suspected extremists to determine if there are any common behavioural patterns — particularly with regard to combating the new wave of lone- wolf terrorist attacks.