State Government justice crackdown to honour Masa Vukotic
VICTORIA’S worst thugs face electronic tracking for life under new laws that will help honour the memory of murdered schoolgirl Masa Vukotic.
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VICTORIA’S worst thugs face electronic tracking for life under new laws that will help honour the memory of murdered schoolgirl Masa Vukotic.
For the first time, courts will be able to order violent offenders to wear ankle bracelets or submit to curfews and no-go zones even after they leave jail and return to the community.
The Sunday Herald Sun can reveal the Andrews Government will create laws to crack down on dangerous criminals following advice in a damning report ordered after the murder of Ms Vukotic by Sean Price — who was on bail and a supervision order at the time.
That report highlights glaring corrections-system flaws and says supervision laws used on sex fiends should be widened to include violent offenders, focusing on a “critical few” who pose the greatest risk.
Tens of millions of dollars needed to fund the reforms will be in the State Budget handed down this week.
Premier Daniel Andrews said changes had to be made to honour the memory of Ms Vukotic. “The system failed Masa Vukotic and her family and we will do everything we can to make sure it never happens again,” he said.
“We are overhauling the way we control and supervise the state’s most serious criminals, and these new measures further tighten the net and keep Victorians safe.”
The report by former Supreme Court judge David Harper and an expert panel includes 35 recommendations, and will be released today.
It criticises the way authorities in charge of post-sentence supervision orders deal with one another, and says the Adult Parole Board sometimes lacks the information it needs to make informed decisions.
Post-sentence supervision orders were originally created to monitor the state’s high-risk sex fiends, many of who live at Corella Place near Ararat, a facility dubbed the “Village of the Damned”. About 130 people are subject to such orders.
Price was on a supervision order at the time he brutally attacked Ms Vukotic, stabbing her 49 times at a park in Doncaster in a crime that horrified the community.
When Price was sentenced in the Supreme Court to life in jail, Justice Lex Lasry told him he was a danger to society and should never have been left in a position where he could roam the streets “unrestrained and unaccountable”.
Several other reforms were proposed by the government as Justice Harper conducted his review last year, including for police to hold offenders without charge for 72 hours.
There will also be the power for courts to make conditions on supervision orders to reduce the risk of violence, and stricter conditions on orders including minimum 12-month jail terms for breaches.
A Community Safety Bill has been introduced to State Parliament to implement several changes.
But the plan to widen the net of post-sentence monitoring is challenging for a number of reasons, including how to define who would be tracked. It may take longer to bring in.
The Department of Justice is auditing past cases to establish a framework that would capture the highest-risk offenders, such as murderers and other violent criminals.
A supervision order would last for 15 years before reapplications are required, and anyone who breaks the conditions would be thrown back in jail.
It is understood the report recommends narrow criteria that could include a threshold sentence — such as a minimum of three or four years — before orders could be applied.
Other recommendations by Justice Harper and his panel include changing the way treatment interventions are administered to “moderate” or “high risk” sex offenders.
It also says there should be streamlined processes for prosecuting breaches of orders, and more training for the staff involved in the day-to-day management and supervision of sex pests.
Every recommendation will be accepted in principle by the government.
FAMILY’S LOSS IS NOT IN VAIN NOW
MASA Vukotic’s mother has praised the Victorian Government’s proposed reforms to the justice system.
Heartbroken Natasa Vukotic told the Sunday Herald Sun the changes meant her daughter’s death was not in vain.
“I am glad to learn that these changes will be made so that hopefully no other family suffers the pain, the loss and the heartache that we have suffered and will continue to endure forever,” Ms Vukotic said.
“Masa will never be forgotten and these changes will ensure Masa’s legacy lives on.”
Ms Vukotic shared some precious photos of Masa with the Sunday Herald Sun — including ones of the close-knit pair enjoying overseas travel and nights out.
“This tragedy could have happened to anyone and we need to make sure that it doesn’t happen again,” she said.
Masa was murdered by Sean Christian Price on March 17 last year in a Doncaster Park.
The Canterbury Girls’ Secondary College student had gone for her regular walk from the family home nearby.
Psychopath Price picked her out at random to be his victim. Her body was found by police soon after she was reported missing.
Ms Vukotic said the community’s support had helped them throughout their despair.
But there was not a day that the family didn’t think about their beloved daughter in “every prayer, in every tear and every smile”.
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