Nationals propose tougher bail laws to fight youth crime

Young offenders repeatedly arrested for serious crimes while out on bail would be automatically denied future bail under new reforms being proposed by the NSW National Party.

More than 600 Kempsey locals attended a youth crime rally in Kempsey on Sunday.

Young offenders repeatedly arrested for serious crimes while out on bail would be automatically denied future bail under new reforms being proposed by the NSW National Party.

Additionally police would no longer need to prove that children between the ages of 10 and 14 who repeatedly commit violent crimes, know that what they are doing is wrong.

The suite of hard line proposals to be introduced to parliament in March will be designed to stamp out violent youth crime that has resulted in an epidemic of violent break and enters, assaults and car thefts at the hands of children and teenagers.

The proposals come after hundreds of angry residents joined rallies in Armidale and Kempsey over the weekend to call for tougher bail laws to keep residents safe.

Nearly 1000 Kempsey locals attended a youth crime rally in Kempsey on Sunday. Picture: supplied

Tougher bail measures introduced by the Minns government in March last year required magistrates to have a “high degree of confidence” the perpetrator would not reoffend for bail to be granted.

NSW Nationals Leader Dugald Saunders said while there had been a slight increase in bail refusals, the results were not good enough, with legislation needed to completely prevent recidivist offenders being granted bail.

The Daily Telegraph revealed on Saturday that the state’s most senior judges are severely critical of the Minns government’s bail law changes for being too harsh and leading to more children being locked up.

Nearly 1000 Kempsey locals attended a youth crime rally in Kempsey on Sunday.

Yet Mr Saunders said that with residents terrified in their own homes there needs to be a change.

“When you’ve got people in their own homes feeling completely unsafe, magistrates do need to take some notice of that.

“Young people know they’re getting away with more than ever and they take advantage.”

The proposed reforms would also change the legal test for “Doli incapax”, the Latin phrase for “incapable of evil”.

NSW Nationals leader Dugald Saunders. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

The test means that for a youth between 10 and 14 to be guilty of a crime, police must first prove in court the child knows the difference between right and wrong, which has led to many instances of repeat offenders escaping multiple convictions or any lasting punishment.

The Daily Telegraph revealed in March last year that many kids had become so confident they would get away with offences, some had dubbed committing crime “doing Doli”.

Under the proposed changes, the onus would be on a recidivist offender to prove they did not know what they were doing was wrong. Additionally the child would undertake recorded counselling with a specialised social worker where they discuss the crime and what is right or wrong.

Premier Chris Minns said the government was considering tougher bail laws. Picture: NewsWire / John Appleyard

Additionally the reforms will also propose a change to sentencing law, whereby the severity of the impact on the victim becomes mandated as the top aggravating factor when determining a sentence.

The Nationals will likely present the reforms as a private members bill, if it is not supported by their Liberal coalition partners. The Minns government is also unlikely to support the legislation.

Premier Chris Minns said the government was currently considering its own reforms further toughening bail laws.

“There’s no easy solution to end this persistent problem, if it could be solved overnight or with one piece of reform someone would have done it by now,” he said.

“We are considering further legislative reform however laws alone will not solve this which is why we are working to boost police numbers by paying recruits to become police officers and boosting police pay.”