STATUTES AMENDMENT (ELECTRONIC MONITORING) BILL

Second Reading

Second reading.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (17:16): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading explanation inserted in Hansard without my reading it.

Leave granted.

The Statutes (Amendment) Electronic Monitoring Bill 2013 seeks to amend three pieces of legislation to empower the relevant authorities to impose electronic monitoring of offenders and other persons released to the community that are assessed as posing a risk to the community and requiring additional monitoring.

Electronic monitoring is a valuable tool currently used by the Department for Correctional Services for rigorously supervising offenders in the community.

Electronic monitoring is mostly used for prisoners on post-prison Home Detention and Intensive Bail Supervision.

Post-prison Home Detention is for prisoners that satisfy the strict criteria to serve the last part of their period of imprisonment on Home Detention, at times largely or entirely subject to electronic monitoring as a condition. Intensive Bail Supervision is court ordered Home Detention Bail, of which the vast majority have electronic monitoring as a condition.

Put simply, the Bill proposes to extend electronic monitoring to empower relevant authorities to impose electronic monitoring on:

prisoners undertaking approved activities outside of the prisons; and

offenders who are released to the community by the Courts on licence.

The Bill also provides that the Parole Board must consider imposing an electronic monitoring condition for prisoners convicted of child sex offences being released on parole.

These proposed changes will complement amendments recently passed to the Child Sex Offenders Registration (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2013 in which the Police Commissioner will have the power to issue a requirement to a serious registrable child sex offender that he or she wear or carry a tracking device for the purpose of monitoring whereabouts.

The Bill, in addition to child sex offenders would include offenders who have committed sex offences against adults or persons deemed to present a risk to family safety.

The Bill refers to 'electronic monitoring' rather than a particular device type as all types of technologies can then be considered for use now and into the future.

This is to capture all existing devices and enable remote monitoring (for example drug or alcohol testing) and include GPS technology.

The Department for Correctional Services is exploring the use of GPS technology for the monitoring of offenders and is currently conducting a trial.

Public safety and reducing reoffending is paramount and having the right technology in place under an appropriate legislative framework with appropriate supervision arrangements is critical.

The Government takes this opportunity to thank the Member of Parliament who introduced a Private Member's Bill that sought to provide GPS tracking of child sex offenders in the community and on approved release from prison.

This Bill goes much further; it provides for current and future technologies; it provides for a risk-based approach rather than limited to offence type; and will capture the prisoner to whom the Member referred in the Member's speech on her Bill. That Bill would have missed the very person she sought to monitor in this way.

This Bill will make sure we have the legislation in place to electronically monitor that person and others who require this extra monitoring tool to provide greater public safety.

I commend the Bill to Members.

Explanation of Clauses

Part 1—Preliminary

1—Short title

2—Commencement

3—Amendment provisions

These clauses are formal.

Part 2—Amendment of Correctional Services Act 1982

4—Amendment of section 4—Interpretation

This clause inserts a definition of electronic device for the purposes of the measure.

5—Amendment of section 27—Leave of absence from prison

This clause amends section 27 to specify that conditions under which leave of absence may be granted under the section include a condition concerning matters relating to the custody and supervision of, and directions to be given to, prisoners granted leave and a condition requiring a prisoner granted leave to be monitored by use of an electronic device.

6—Amendment of section 67—Release on parole by application to Board

This clause amends section 67 to expressly refer to the fact that the CE may include in his or her report to the Parole Board recommendations as to the conditions that should, in the opinion of the CE, be imposed by the Board on the prisoner's release on parole.

7—Amendment of section 68—Conditions of release on parole

This clause amends section 68 to specify that the conditions of release on parole may include a condition requiring a prisoner to be monitored by use of an electronic device.

Part 3—Amendment of Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935

8—Amendment of section 269O—Supervision

This clause amends section 269O to provide that the conditions of a supervision order under the section may include a condition requiring a defendant to be monitored by use of an electronic device.

Part 4—Amendment of Criminal Law (Sentencing) Act 1988

9—Amendment of section 24—Release on licence

This clause amends section 24 to provide that the conditions of release on licence under the section may include a condition requiring a person to be monitored by use of an electronic device.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. S.G. Wade.

At 17:18 the council adjourned until Tuesday 26 November 2013 at 11:00.