NSW Courts dismiss more accused crims on mental health grounds
More and more accused crooks are walking free on mental health grounds it has been revealed, 18 months after the state government began reviewing the law.
NSW
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More and more accused criminals are walking free on mental health grounds it has been revealed, 18 months after the State Government began reviewing the law.
The number of people to have their cases dismissed under the Mental Health Act jumped by 20.4 per cent from 2105 people in 2014-15 to 2535 in 2018-19, the latest bureau of crime statistics data shows.
A weakness in the system was exposed with horrific consequences last year when 25-year-old Jessica Camilleri allegedly beheaded her mother in a violent argument at their St Clair home on July 20.
It emerged Ms Camilleri had been charged and released four times under section 32 of the Act before she allegedly murdered Rita Camilleri.
A review of the Act had already been under way since June 2018 and reforms passed parliament that year giving greater protections to victims of the mentally ill.
On Tuesday, Mr Speakman said dozens of experts and members of the public had now been consulted as the review turned to the offenders themselves and how magistrates decided whether to release them into treatment or give them a criminal sentence.
“The death of Rita Camilleri is an horrific tragedy. I cannot begin to comprehend the pain and trauma her family has suffered,” Mr Speakman told The Daily Telegraph.
“The NSW Government has listened to the concerns of the community, with the Department of Communities and Justice consulting more than 30 experts and members of the community as part of this ongoing review.”
The Daily Telegraph understands more results from the review could be announced in coming months.
A recent study by the Royal College of Psychiatrists found there were benefits to giving mentally ill offenders treatment orders rather than “punitive sanction”, claiming it led to a 12 per cent reduction in the risk of reoffending.
Sections 32 and 33 of the act allow a Local Court magistrate to discharge a defendant without conviction on special conditions for six months, or release them into a hospital or the care of a loved one.
The numbers of mental health dismissals in NSW rose roughly in line with the overall increase in court workload – they represented 1.7 per cent of all court finalisations in 2014-15 and 1.8 per cent in 2018-19.
Of the 2535 people granted dismissals under section 32 or 33 of the Act last financial year 233 were juvenile offenders.
Camilleri’s case is due to return to Penrith Local Court on January 31.