The Australian Federal Police Association (AFPA) is dismayed the ACT judiciary allowed a recidivist teenage offender, arrested four times in the last seven weeks for bail breaches and other offences, to remain in the community. In their opinion, this shows that an independent review of ACT sentencing and bail outcomes – which the AFPA called for last year – is urgently needed.

• 15-year-old boy arrested for fourth time in seven weeks (17 February)

AFPA president Alex Caruana called this another example of the ACT judiciary placing the rights of an offender above those of the community.

“It is a sorry state of affairs when a teenager has been able to re-offend simply because of lazy and superficial judicial processes,” Mr Caruana said.  “Clearly the judiciary need to be accountable for these decisions, but to whom?

“The ACT Attorney-General [Shane Rattenbury MLA] has more than enough evidence in front of him demonstrating that the sentencing and bail outcomes handed down by the ACT judiciary are consistently putting the general community at risk.

“The AFPA is again challenging the ACT Attorney-General, and the judiciary that he is responsible for, to display a modicum of transparency and accountability by establishing an independent review into sentencing and bail in the ACT.”

• Reform of bail and sentencing in ACT needed, AFPA says (25 August 2022)
• AFPA wants Shane Rattenbury to resign as Attorney-General (17 September 2022)
• Fight for independent review of bail is not yet over (12 October 2022)

Mr Caruana said that Mr Rattenbury had commissioned a study by the Justice and Community Safety Directorate on bail outcomes in the ACT, and announced the government would establish the ACT Government Law and Sentencing Advisory Council.

“Since its announcement in October, what work has been done? Where is the Council?” Mr Caruana asked.

• ACT Government to set up law reform council (7 October 2022)

“It appears that the announcement of the Law and Sentencing Advisory Council, and the study by the Directorate, was just more lip service from the Attorney-General and ACT Government.  Has anyone seen any further information about the study? Is a study even occurring?

“It’s clear that the ACT Government doesn’t have programs or initiatives in place to stop juvenile recidivist offending. Before they legislate a raise in the age of criminal responsibility, they need to address this deficiency.”