The Australian Federal Police Association has called on ACT Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury to step down, arguing he has put the rights of offenders above the safety of Canberrans.
AFPA President Alex Caruana denounced Mr Rattenbury for not ordering an independent review into bail and sentencing when the community clearly expected him to do so.
The AFPA called last month for an independent review of bail and sentencing in the ACT, appalled by court decisions to grant bail to recidivist offenders who went to reoffend, including in one case, attacking a policeman.
Mr Caruana said that Mr Rattenbury could not continue to ignore the poor sentencing and bail standards the ACT judiciary fostered. Evidence mounted daily that he had made a poor decision by ignoring calls for an independent review, he said.
A Canberra Times article this week stated that ACT prosecutors were filing a record number of appeals in a bid to address sentences, Mr Caruana remarked.
“It seems that the DPP prosecutors are doing their job, ACT Policing is doing their job, yet both are being let down by the Attorney-General and judiciary,” Mr Caruana said.
The AFPA noted that at least half of the Crown appeals were successful; in total, the Crown was successful in 68 per cent of all appeals to the ACT Court of Appeal.
Mr Caruana said that if 68 per cent of the appeals were successful, then something was going seriously wrong at the front end, pointing at decisions made by the judiciary.
“In any other industry with a record number of original decisions being appealed — with a 68 per cent success rate of those appeals — that workforce would and should be put under the microscope.
“Why isn’t the Attorney-General asking these questions as part of an independent review? If bail and judicial outcomes were as shipshape as he asserts, then an independent review would demonstrate that. The AFPA knows that he knows there are issues, and that they are beyond his capability to address.
“If the Attorney-General doesn’t want to be a leader and have the difficult conversations, then he must step aside. The ACT needs an Attorney-General who is accountable and transparent, and willing to put their own ideologies aside for the betterment of the entire ACT community.
“If he can’t put the community above his own ideologies, then he needs to resign. Chief Minister Andrew Barr has very competent ministers in his own party, any of whom would make an excellent Attorney-General.
“This is just another example where the Attorney-General and the judiciary are putting the rights of offenders and convicted criminals above the right of the entire ACT community to feel safe,” Mr Caruana said.
CW contacted Mr Rattenbury’s office for a response.
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