Domestic Violence Epidemic

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NSW Legislative changes to Bail and Remand Laws to be introduced to Parliament next week.

No surprises here on the ankle bracelet part.

'Ankle monitoring not likely to be included in DV law changes'​

'May 9, 2024 - 12:31PM
...
Changes to bail laws for high risk domestic violence offenders will be introduced to parliament next week, with Premier Chris Minns flagging electronic ankle monitoring may not be included in the reforms.

The Premier told media on Thursday the new legislative changes would centre around bail and remand laws, targeting high risk offenders.

“Our approach to this has been to look specifically at the legal system and the application of bail in NSW court,” he said.

“What we’re looking at in terms of our intervention is bail remand, particularly for high risk offenders in the community.”

Mr Minns said the new laws would be introduced to cabinet over the weekend or first thing next week before being immediately put to parliament.
...
While the Premier said the government was looking into changing the way AVOs were monitored, the new reform is unlikely to include provisions for electronic ankle monitoring bracelets.

He said that not only was ankle monitoring expensive but it also required a large number of policing resources to monitor should an offender breach their AVO.

A trial for ankle monitoring in South Australia involves 150, while the number of AVOs in NSW numbers more than 40,000, an amount the Premier indicated made the technology prohibitive.

“We are looking at that (electronic monitoring) closely, but I have to tell you that the challenges with ankle monitoring are this – firstly trials of ankle monitoring across the country have been very small and quite limited,” he said.

“It’s not just the upfront capital costs, you also need to make sure that you’ve got policing in place that can monitor and respond to a potential offender breaching their apprehended domestic violence order.”

NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley said during Question Time on Thursday the government had received advice from the domestic violence prevention sector “not to rush into reform with respect to electronic monitoring”.

“There are instances where it does not work, does not protect the woman and the woman in question does not feel safe,” he said.'
 
I hope the security upgrades includes ongoing and one off costs for upgraded fixed line NBN/internet with high upload speed mobile network auto-failure switchover and NBN electricity battery auto-switchover tech gear and ongoing services.

Regardless of whether it is a rental property, unit, or a share house they don't own.

And if the buildings strata privacy laws prevent the required type of video surveillance tech for the resident in critical common areas, then immediate relocation nearby to more suitable accomodation. The State Government will need to keep a stable of suitable family accomodation properties and have multiple vacant at any time for emergency relocations.

 
BFew said:
I hope the security upgrades includes ongoing and one off costs for upgraded fixed line NBN/internet with high upload speed mobile network auto-failure switchover and NBN electricity battery auto-switchover tech gear and ongoing services.

Regardless of whether it is a rental property, unit, or a share house they don't own.

And if the buildings strata privacy laws prevent the required type of video surveillance tech for the resident in critical common areas, then immediate relocation nearby to more suitable accomodation. The State Government will need to keep a stable of suitable family accomodation properties and have multiple vacant at any time for emergency relocations.

Click to expand...

BFew said:
I hope the security upgrades includes ongoing and one off costs for upgraded fixed line NBN/internet with high upload speed mobile network auto-failure switchover and NBN electricity battery auto-switchover tech gear and ongoing services.

Regardless of whether it is a rental property, unit, or a share house they don't own.

And if the buildings strata privacy laws prevent the required type of video surveillance tech for the resident in critical common areas, then immediate relocation nearby to more suitable accomodation. The State Government will need to keep a stable of suitable family accomodation properties and have multiple vacant at any time for emergency relocations.

Click to expand...

This is a positive step forward.
 

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Underarrest_ said:
“The police prosecutor opposed bail.”
and still he was let out on bail knowing he’s possibly already reoffended. Unbelievable!
If ever there’s something that could be improved, this is it.
Click to expand...

Maybe they settled out of court.

www.abc.net.au

Rape charges against Perth bikie Troy Mercanti dropped amid coercion fears for alleged victim

Notorious bikie Troy Mercanti is awarded costs after rape charges against him relating to an alleged incident in Karrinyup are dropped in a Perth court today.
www.abc.net.au www.abc.net.au
'today the charges were dropped in the Perth Magistrate's Court, with Mercanti awarded $1,500 in costs.'
 
Maybe if Mercanti hadn't been bailed she would have not became so reluctant to continue.

thewest.com.au

Police drop rape charges against Troy Mercanti in shock move

Police have sensationally dropped rape charges against career bikie Troy Mercanti.
thewest.com.au thewest.com.au

'It is believed the police case unravelled when the alleged victim became reluctant to continue.'
 
Bostonian said:
So they get told they need to express their feelings because men don't and that's bad. Constantly told its a part of "toxic" masculinity to not be able to talk about feelings.

Now you're telling them to not push back against it and suck it up?

So what is it?

No wonder they are so confused and make bad decisions in life based on people trashing them then being told to suck it up when they express issues.
Click to expand...
Calm down, you're generalising and catastrophising, and no longer discussing reality for most people (AFAIK). Who is telling boys and young men they need to acknowledge and validate misandric TikTok content? Learning to ignore unwarranted criticism, insults, and other rubbish is a good life skill - sticks and stones. Who is telling people they have to accept everything that they hear on social media (or anywhere else), can't "push back"? Who is saying people can't respond to things they see and hear and express issues and themselves? Who is "so confused"?

Bostonian said:
If their behaviour warrants it?

It's the people with low esteem that have the bad behavioural issues more than not.

Those are the people are the ones you need to target to lift up from the mire. Yeah?
Click to expand...
I am finding it hard to picture how this looks in practice.
 
BFew said:
Maybe if Mercanti hadn't been bailed she would have not became so reluctant to continue.

thewest.com.au

Police drop rape charges against Troy Mercanti in shock move

Police have sensationally dropped rape charges against career bikie Troy Mercanti.
thewest.com.au thewest.com.au

'It is believed the police case unravelled when the alleged victim became reluctant to continue.'
Click to expand...
No doubt, with a background like that who wouldn’t be fearful. The only positive out of this case now is that it’s been made public and we all know his name. Big concern as to whether the alleged victim is safe though.
 
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cartwright said:
The man was known to police for domestic violence related offences, Det Supt Hart.

Have they named him and shown a photo of him?
Click to expand...
They have named after he handed himself in and he was charged.

At the time of the stabbing last week, the accused was on a non-custodial 18-month intensive correction order from only 10 days prior to this stabbing. An order from having twice breached ADVO's to protect the former girlfriend.
An order that had an alternative of jail time.

Weak as piss for not being jailed 3 weeks ago.

www.smh.com.au

Man who allegedly stabbed woman at gym had twice breached AVOs

Police have charged the alleged attacker, Anthony Monteleone, with wounding with intent to murder and contravening an AVO.
www.smh.com.au www.smh.com.au
'Man who allegedly stabbed woman at gym had twice breached AVOs'
'Updated May 9, 2024 — 7.16pm
...
A 45-year-old man who allegedly stabbed his former girlfriend in the head outside an Alexandria gym had twice breached apprehended domestic violence orders put in place to protect the woman in the lead-up to the attack.

Police charged the alleged attacker Anthony Monteleone on Thursday with wounding with intent to murder and contravening an AVO.

The stabbing at Alexandria on Wednesday has increased pressure on the Minns government to reform domestic violence and bail laws, and also address knife crime, after a spate of high-profile alleged crimes.

Ten days before the attack, Monteleone had been given a non-custodial 18-month intensive correction order after twice breaching apprehended domestic violence orders put in place to protect the former girlfriend.

A Manly Local Court magistrate had given him the ICO on the same day that police had refused him bail for the two ADVO breaches.

The conditions attached to his community sentence were supposed to keep Monteleone at least 100 metres away from his former girlfriend at all times. He was also banned from contacting, stalking, assaulting or trying to find her. He also was banned from her work and her home.
...'
 
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OK.

The media now reporting that this was not a DV incident, and that there was an AVO involved (not an ADVO, where D=Domestic).

Only an AVO as there was no prior relationship between the two, as it was stalking.

Woman allegedly ‘stalked’ by attacker prior to daylight stabbing, AVO in place​

May 9, 2024 - 7:35PM
...
A source close to the victim revealed she was allegedly “followed” by Monteleone after she cut off communication with him last month.

Speaking of when the pair first met, the source told The Daily Telegraph that Monteleone “approached her and started talking to her.

“They were not talking for that long. A short time.

“They were not in a relationship,” the source said.

After multiple conversations both in person and over the phone, the woman allegedly noticed worrying signs about Monteleone’s behaviour.

“She noticed a few red flags,” the source said.

“Once she cut him off, there was some sort of stalking and numerous phone calls.”

“She blocked him and that’s when he started following her.”
...'
 
Underarrest_ said:
No doubt, with a background like that who wouldn’t be fearful. The only positive out of this case now is that it’s been made public and we all know his name. Big concern as to whether the alleged victim is safe though.
Click to expand...
He's been known to everybody in Perth literally for decades. Unfortunately he gives drugs to women so they still spend time with him.

Not sure why ABC keeps using pics of him from 20 years ago. Use pics of him today.
 
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CredibleSauce said:
I think there are plenty of men with abhorrent views of women who would never abuse or kill one.
Doesn’t make abhorrent views, or even benignly misogynistic views okay, but by themselves I don’t think these views directly cause deaths of women.

The underlying abhorrent views may make it more likely, but at the end of the day I think the issue is honestly down to emotional regulation skills.

As in the majority of men who kill women in DV situations - whether they have a poor view of women in particular or not - kill them because they’ve encountered a stressor and don't have the emotional resilience to resolve it in a mature manner.
Again, does not in any way make it okay - makes it more dangerous for women in fact - but I think people are ignoring this aspect.

We can drive as much social change as we want but while physically stronger men lack the emotional regulation skills to resolve problems, women and children (boys and girls both) are going to bear the brunt of it when those men resort to violence.

I don’t know how we’d implement some kind of population wide mandatory resilience building education (would probably have to be implemented in schools) and I have no idea what an effective program would actually involve, but I’m near certain it’s key in reducing these outcomes.
Click to expand...
Children learning emotional regulation skills is something that could definitely be more focused on in schools for all children.

Also, education on increased
self esteem,unhealthy/healthy relationships, respecting self and others, values, managing conflict, communication skills.

A big one for me is learning to ‘own’ one’s own behaviour, acknowledging that someone else is not responsible for another’s behaviour. Many DV perpetrators lay blame on the other person for their own behaviour, ‘If they hadn’t have done this, I wouldn’t have done that.’ This pattern (without intervention/education) allows them to continue to lay blame on the victim and continue this behaviour.
 
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Looks like the national police alarm activation response guidelines have a fatal flaw in them in some circumstances, like the one in the case below in the media today.

It's probably a case of trying to minimise Police callouts, due to limited Police resources to respond immediately to clear or potential threats.

www.smh.com.au

Peta was assaulted by her ex. A safety device was supposed to keep her safe

A woman who was violently attacked for five hours by her former partner is suing the supplier of a personal safety device that failed to alert police.
www.smh.com.au www.smh.com.au

'Peta was assaulted by her ex. A safety device was supposed to keep her safe​

'May 10, 2024 — 5.00am
...
The case raises serious concerns about the monitoring of the body-worn technology, which was the recipient of a Commonwealth government grant as part of its national plan to reduce violence against women and their children.
...
As Richards’ behaviour became more unhinged, local police and a counsellor at the Mallee sexual assault unit urged Peta to wear the security device known as the StandbyU Shield, which was supplied by Queensland company Commsync Alert.

The device would notify a relative and friend nominated by Peta of any incident along with two staff members from the Mallee sexual assault unit. It was also monitored by a Queensland security firm called Castle Security, which trades as Back2Base Monitoring.

According to legal documents, Back2Base Monitoring was supposed to “escalate any alert from the plaintiff to Victoria Police if it is deemed necessary”.

However, three desperate pleas for help from Peta between 11pm and 4.30am on October 17, 2021, were never referred to police. Phone calls from Back2Base Monitoring to Peta’s phone were not answered because Richards had seized her phone, it is alleged in court documents.
...
“The device gave our client a false sense of security, and the failures associated with it resulted in dire consequences,” Munir said. “We allege that as a result of the incident, our client has sustained significant psychological injuries.”

A lawyer acting for Commsync Alert, Moray & Agnew partner Jeremy Peck, declined to comment while the matter was before court.

However, a defence statement filed on behalf of Commsync Alert alleged that Back2Base Monitoring was not permitted to contact police when Peta did not respond to their phone calls, which is set out in the national police alarm activation response guidelines.

“Back2Base’s records from 17 October 2021 and 18 October 2021 record that Back2Base monitored the audio around the StandbyU Shield worn by the plaintiff and recorded ‘could hear couple talking normally’, ‘no one speaking, could hear background movement’ and ‘very little talking – general conversation’,” Commsync Alert’s defence statement said.

Back2Base Monitoring general manager Gary Rushton declined to comment while the matter was before the court, and the company is yet to file a defence statement.
...'


National Police Alarm Response Guideline

This national guideline is designed to align police classification, requirements and response to alarms and alarm activations. The National Police Alarm Response Guideline was implemented on 1 July 2018.
asial.com.au asial.com.au
 
Evidence of long wait times to get onto NSW men’s behaviour change programs.

www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au

Five-month delays for counselling of violent men

As Australia struggles with a surge in calls for help to domestic violence services, treatment programs for violent men are also struggling to meet demand.
www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au

'Five-month delays for counselling of violent men'​

'Rick Morton
May 11, 2024
...
In NSW, for example, No to Violence, which represents service providers for men’s behaviour change programs, says there are “at least 480 men using violence currently on waiting lists” for intervention programs.

“Service providers told us that their waitlists usually have between 20 and 40 men, with men waiting on average between 3 to 5 months to access programs,” its state pre-budget submission says.

“This means many men are waiting for more than 200 days to get help to change their behaviour. Every day that these men wait to engage in interventions, the safety of victim-survivors is compromised.”
...
In last year’s budget, the federal government provided $169 million over four years to hire 500 new frontline workers to support people experiencing domestic, family or sexual violence. Last Sunday the minister for women, Katy Gallagher, said states and territories had hired only 30 people so far.
...'
 
BFew said:
The NSW Opposition is proposing it's own set of Bail Laws in Parliament today, prior to the Government tabling it's own proposed ones next week.
Click to expand...
Here it is.

'Overview of Bill

The object of this Bill is to amend the Bail Act 2013 to—

(a) create a rebuttable presumption that bail conditions about electronic monitoring must be imposed if bail is granted for a serious personal violence offence alleged to have been committed—
(i) by an accused person who is at least 18 years of age, and
(ii) against a person with whom the accused person has, or has had, a domestic relationship, and

(b) provide that a grant of bail contrary to the rebuttable presumption will be stayed for up to 3 business days if a police officer or Crown lawyer immediately informs the court or authorised justice making the bail decision that an authorised officer or the Director of Public Prosecutions has approved the making of an application about the bail in the Supreme Court, and

(c) provide that a bail condition requiring the accused person be subject to electronic monitoring is a pre-release requirement for the purposes of the Bail Act 2013, and

(d) prohibit registrars of the Local Court from hearing bail applications for serious personal violence offences.
....'

 
4m vid of this morning's NSW Premiers media conference on proposed changes to NSW Bail Laws for DV offenders, scheduled for introducing to NSW Parliament this week. Followed by the associated media release.

www.abc.net.au

Bail law changes will keep more accused 'serious' domestic violence offenders off the streets, Minns says

The NSW government has proposed new laws for those accused of "serious" domestic violence offences to make it harder to secure bail.
www.abc.net.au www.abc.net.au

NSW government proposes higher bail threshold, electronic monitoring for 'serious' domestic violence offenders​

www.nsw.gov.au

Strengthening the justice system to better protect domestic and family violence victim survivors

The NSW Government will introduce significant legal reforms that will make it more difficult for those accused of serious domestic violence offences to get bail.
www.nsw.gov.au www.nsw.gov.au
'Published: 14 May 2024

The NSW Government will introduce significant legal reforms that will make it more difficult for those accused of serious domestic violence offences to get bail.

The reforms include:

Reversing the presumption of bail for serious domestic violence offences, by expanding the category of “show cause” offences.

This will require alleged offenders to demonstrate why they should be out in the community. This test will now apply to the following offences:
  • serious domestic violence offences committed by intimate partners, including sexual assault, strangulation with intent to commit another offence and kidnapping, with a maximum penalty of 14 or more years jail; and
  • coercive control, which will be a criminal offence from 1 July 2024.
Requiring electronic monitoring of people charged with serious domestic violence who are on bail. This means that this cohort is either held in remand or electronically monitored.

Expanding the categories of offences for which bail decisions can be ‘stayed’, that is the accused person remains in custody while prosecutors challenge their release in the Supreme Court. This will act as an additional safeguard to prevent the release of dangerous domestic violence offenders.

For all other domestic violence related offences, requiring bail decision-makers to consider, where relevant:
  • domestic abuse risk factors, including ‘red flags’ such as behaviour that is physically abusive or violent; behaviour that is sexually abusive, coercive or violent; behaviour that is stalking; behaviour that causes death or injury to an animal; behaviour that is verbally abusive; behaviour that is intimidation.
  • the views of victims and their family members, where possible, about safety concerns for all domestic violence offences.
Changes to make it easier to prosecute perpetrators who use tracking and surveillance devices as a tactic to maintain control over their victim.

Changes to weekend bail courts across NSW, to ensure bail decisions are made by magistrates (for example, using audio visual links) with consultation on the design and rollout of the scheme.

These legislative reforms come after the NSW Government announced a $230 million package to improve the response to domestic and family violence through primary prevention, early intervention and crisis response measures.

In addition, NSW signed up with the Commonwealth Government in a share of $1 billion in new federal funding for emergency accommodation for people fleeing domestic violence, to be included in the upcoming Federal budget.
....'
 
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BFew said:
4m vid of this morning's NSW Premiers media conference on proposed changes to NSW Bail Laws for DV offenders, scheduled for introducing to NSW Parliament this week. Followed by the associated media release.

www.abc.net.au

Bail law changes will keep more accused 'serious' domestic violence offenders off the streets, Minns says

The NSW government has proposed new laws for those accused of "serious" domestic violence offences to make it harder to secure bail.
www.abc.net.au www.abc.net.au

NSW government proposes higher bail threshold, electronic monitoring for 'serious' domestic violence offenders​

www.nsw.gov.au

Strengthening the justice system to better protect domestic and family violence victim survivors

The NSW Government will introduce significant legal reforms that will make it more difficult for those accused of serious domestic violence offences to get bail.
www.nsw.gov.au www.nsw.gov.au
'Published: 14 May 2024

The NSW Government will introduce significant legal reforms that will make it more difficult for those accused of serious domestic violence offences to get bail.

The reforms include:

Reversing the presumption of bail for serious domestic violence offences, by expanding the category of “show cause” offences. This will require alleged offenders to demonstrate why they should be out in the community. This test will now apply to the following offences:
  • serious domestic violence offences committed by intimate partners, including sexual assault, strangulation with intent to commit another offence and kidnapping, with a maximum penalty of 14 or more years jail; and
  • coercive control, which will be a criminal offence from 1 July 2024.
Requiring electronic monitoring of people charged with serious domestic violence who are on bail. This means that this cohort is either held in remand or electronically monitored.

Expanding the categories of offences for which bail decisions can be ‘stayed’, that is the accused person remains in custody while prosecutors challenge their release in the Supreme Court. This will act as an additional safeguard to prevent the release of dangerous domestic violence offenders.

For all other domestic violence related offences, requiring bail decision-makers to consider, where relevant:
  • domestic abuse risk factors, including ‘red flags’ such as behaviour that is physically abusive or violent; behaviour that is sexually abusive, coercive or violent; behaviour that is stalking; behaviour that causes death or injury to an animal; behaviour that is verbally abusive; behaviour that is intimidation.
  • the views of victims and their family members, where possible, about safety concerns for all domestic violence offences.
Changes to make it easier to prosecute perpetrators who use tracking and surveillance devices as a tactic to maintain control over their victim.

Changes to weekend bail courts across NSW, to ensure bail decisions are made by magistrates (for example, using audio visual links) with consultation on the design and rollout of the scheme.

These legislative reforms come after the NSW Government announced a $230 million package to improve the response to domestic and family violence through primary prevention, early intervention and crisis response measures.

In addition, NSW signed up with the Commonwealth Government in a share of $1 billion in new federal funding for emergency accommodation for people fleeing domestic violence, to be included in the upcoming Federal budget.
....'
Click to expand...

All seems fairly practical and common sense.
 
How is the part bolded below going to work (for non-serious DV offences), when you currently have incidents that occur in the late afternoon, evening or night, resulting in the alleged perpetrator being ADVO'ed, charged and having to front up to a Local Court soon after 9am the morning after the offences occurred.

How are the views of victims and their families going to be gathered and fairly represented in such a short timeframe?

Particularly where the victim(s) and their family members (including children and 16-17yo's, are currently
  • not usually required to attend the initial local court mentions for DV cases (ADVO or Criminal Charges) where bail decisions are made
  • not able to attend court at such short notice the next morning (work, school, medical treatment, injuries, traumatised, general illness etc)
  • not usually encouraged by Police to attend court the next morning
  • not usually formally informed that there is a court mention happening (except for the initial one usually listed on the ADVO copy provided to the victim, and any further down the track court hearings that they are required to attend )

Noting that family members and others covered by the ADVO are not currently provided with copies of the ADVO (only the victim is) or even formally informed of the existence of the ADVO.

Noting that DV victims and their family members are not entitled to any legal aid representation or advice at the local court. With legal aid assistance for DV victims only usually available by phone and usually taking a few days to occur after the initial call for Legal Aid assistance to book in the legal advice.

Furthermore, the initial victim services call where each ADVO victim (not family members or family witnesses who are psychological victims) get's a call from a Police/Government designated victims service officer, do not usually even kick in for a couple of days after the ADVO and any associated criminal charges are made, and often go unanswered if the victim is busy with work, or tied up with long wait times on other calls for Centrelink or emergency accomodation services.

All of the above raises the thorny question as to whether the alleged DV perpetrator is going to have to have bail decisions delayed by a day or more whilst the views of victims and their family members are gathered and victims and their family members are given formal notice and can make arrangements to attend court for any bail hearing.

In addition, in order for the victims and their family members to be able to assess their own risk and risk to their family members, will the Police be instructed to provide the 'facts' info contained on the initial criminal charge document (which often contains additional info to the 'facts' on an interim ADVO, that are ascertained from statements made to the Police in the hours after the ADVO fact sheet is produced, whilst the victim is in Police custody?
Additional facts from what the accused has told Police are the motives for the DV incident, confessions or denials of the DV offence(s), or false or psychiatrically deluded allegations made that the victim and/or witnesses know are not true. Any of which if not revealed to the victim and any family member witnesses, might lead the victim and family members to materially underestimate or overestimate the risks of bail being granted, and lead to a wrong/sub-optimal or unfair bail decision or set of bail restrictions.

www.nsw.gov.au

Strengthening the justice system to better protect domestic and family violence victim survivors

The NSW Government will introduce significant legal reforms that will make it more difficult for those accused of serious domestic violence offences to get bail.
www.nsw.gov.au www.nsw.gov.au

'For all other domestic violence related offences, requiring bail decision-makers to consider, where relevant:
  • domestic abuse risk factors, including ‘red flags’ such as behaviour that is physically abusive or violent; behaviour that is sexually abusive, coercive or violent; behaviour that is stalking; behaviour that causes death or injury to an animal; behaviour that is verbally abusive; behaviour that is intimidation.
  • the views of victims and their family members, where possible, about safety concerns for all domestic violence offences'
localcourt.nsw.gov.au

Bail

Bail is a signed agreement to attend NSW Local Court to answer a charge and keep to conditions listed. Also, what happens if you breach bail.
localcourt.nsw.gov.au localcourt.nsw.gov.au
'...
If police do not grant you bail at the police station, they are required to bring you before a magistrate or authorised justice at a court within a reasonable time where a bail decision will be made.

If you are granted bail, you must sign a bail undertaking confirming that you understand what bail conditions you have to follow and when you are next required to attend court.
...'
 
Whether some of the proposed new bail laws will only commence when the electronic monitoring side of things is in place, is going to be interesting.

Or initially, without the electronic monitoring side of things being in place, or not able to cope with too many bailed criminals requiring during the initial phases of it's implementation, will we just see more bail refusals that would (under the proposed new laws) otherwise likely be granted bail subject to the proposed new electronic monitoring?


'27M AGO

Speakman supportive of new DV laws in NSW​

News South Wales opposition leader Mark Speakman pledged his party's support for Premier Chris Minns reforms to bail laws which passed the state cabinet on Monday night.

Mr Speakman supports the reforms to help protect domestic violence victims, but was worried with how long some of the initiatives would take to be rolled out, especially that of electronic monitoring.

“We are concerned at the moment about what the time frame is,” he said

“The government is not starting from scratch, we know that electronic monitoring is being extensively used at the moment on parolees, with offenders on intensive corrections orders and those on extended supervision orders.

“Certainly it needs to be expanded, but they aren’t starting from scratch.”

Mr Speakman said that the new bail laws would see a change to the way electronic monitoring was used in the state and how it would cost the government money.

“At the moment there are very few people on bail who are on electronic monitoring,” he said. “That's because prosecutors don't seek monitoring as a condition of bail.

“Often those who are seeking bail are offering up electronic monitoring as a way to get bail and that is provided privately and paid for by the accused.

“In the case of offenders, whether that is parolees or those in ICO’s, or those on extended supervision orders it is paid for and monitored by the state.”

Mr Speakman also said had no problems with the new coercive control laws that would come into effect with some calling them too subjective.

“Ultimately the way the legislation is drafted, it is a question of showing the accused intended to coerce or control and that a reasonable bystander would say there was significant harm to the complainant,” he said.

“So, it is a combination of an objective and subjective test.”
– Jordan McCarthy'
 
There's both short term and long term things that need to be done about this.

Short-term the focus needs to be on protection, which means our judicial systems taking violence seriously and prioritising protection of victims. So many of these offenders have violent histories... we can very, very rarely say that we weren't warned.

Longer-term, violence is a symptom of the state of our society. It's linked to rage and anger so if it is indeed on the increase, we need to accept that our society is producing angrier people.

Where is education is this? Does it need to play a bigger role? Traditionally we left many of these lessons to parents, however our family units are changing and children are spending less time with their parents, who are working more and more often not living with them. Is there an identified gap that needs to be filled where our education systems play a real role in socialising youth?

If you really want to go big-picture... as they say, "it's the economy, stupid".

What the hell does the economy have to do with it? It dictates our way of life.

Anger?

40-odd years of right-wing political doctrine has achieved its goal: a widening of the wealth gap. We have robbed more and more people of the economic means to have a secure home and family. We are importing record numbers of economic slaves to work at illegal pay rates in the "gig economy". We have been handed the rare gift of immense natural resources that, if deployed correctly, could genuinely have funded our way of life forever. Instead we've allowed it be stolen by a small number of billionaires who pay next to no tax on it. Real wages are forever declining. We refuse to tax rich multinationals. We knowingly allow corporations to pollute a planet we are meant to leave for our grandkids in order to make more money for themsleves. We demonise the poor and unfortunate, who cost our society a miniscule fraction of what the wealthy do.

All of this has been allowed to happen by politicians who represent narrow, wealthy interests, and have been able to partner with corporate media to disguise the true story. Their strategy has been ridiculously successful, and although in its dying days (the grip of corporate media is reluctantly loosening), the mess that needs to be cleaned up is stratospheric.

It's little wonder that rage, anger and violence is on the increase. It will continue until the root causes are remedied.

It's all relevant. All the pieces matter.

I'm quite confident and optimistic about the coming generations, but Jesus H Christ, we are leaving them a right mess to deal with.

People who have nothing to live for will tear down everything and everyone around them.
 
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