Northern Territory Chief Minister Promises to Tighten Bail Rules
Monday 23 May 2016 @ 10.13 a.m. | Crime
Northern Territory Chief Minister, Adam Giles, has confirmed that the Territory’s Government will introduce new legislation into Parliament to make bail rules stricter for repeat juvenile and adult property offenders.
Mr. Giles published a Facebook post on property crime targeting young people promising to remove the presumption of bail “for those who keep smashing up our cars, and constantly breaking into homes.” In his post, he described that the proposed changes would “extend to persons who are arrested and have previously been convicted of two or more serious property crimes within the preceding two years.” He went on to say:
“Serial property offenders will be required to enter into a conduct agreement, which will include being fitted with an electronic monitoring device in the event that the presumption against bail is rebutted…As I said, nobody wants to see young people behind bars. But I'm standing up for people in our community who've had a gutful."
The proposed laws have been criticised as a pre-election stunt by lawyers and youth advocates. Russell Goldflam, president of the NT Criminal Lawyer's Association, said he suspected Mr Giles was "gearing up for an election and beating the old law and order drum.” Comments on Facebook have also suggested that the unorthodox method of announcing the proposed law on social media is nothing short of a publicity stunt.
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