Modernising of the Criminal Law- challenges for the future.

Victorian Legal Aid Conference, Criminal Law in the 21st Century

Olympic Room, Melbourne Cricket Ground

Adjunct Professor Peter Norden AO

Friday 12th October 2012

Dedication to Father John Brosnan MBEPentridge Prison Chaplain1956 - 1985

Learning from the past,

so as to help shape a more just future……

The Reform of the Criminal Justice System in Australia…Building on the John Barry Memorial Lecture, November 2010

“The role of social activism in criminal justice reform”

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/bigideas/stories/2011/04/09/3185221.htm

Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology 44(1) 143-150

The Role of Advocacy in criminal justice reform

•Rape in J Division Dormitory in March 1976

•Legislative change in age jurisdiction of the criminal courts in Victoria

Police use of “deadly force” in Victoria in early 1990’s.Project Beacon and new emphasis on the protection of human life…Q. Police high speed pursuit policy…..?

How to make public authorities including police, courts, corrections and prisons accountable to the wider community?

Jika Jika High Security Unit…1980’sHumane Containment?H-Division physical brutality, to…the bureacratisation of social control

Tamar Unit, Risdon Prison, Tasmania, 2011.

Adrian Alwyn Pickett v The State of Tasmania

Pro Bono Case undertaken by Freehills….

Pentridge Prison Unlocked, 1996…..350,000 visitors on tour.

Major attempt at public education

Rapid expansion of the instrumentalities of the criminal justice system in Australia,

Including the rapid growth of the national prison population in last 20 years.

Incarceration of the poor and disadvantaged … not just the indigenous communities of Australia.

Research of Professor Tony Vinson

Emeritus Prof, Sydney UniversityInaugural Director of NSW Bureau of Crime and Statistics, 1970’s

Former Commissioner for Corrective Services, NSW, late 1970’s

RMIT University©2011 Information Technology Services 9

CAR Main Points

Positive impact of social cohesion

Strong correlations between social disadvantage factors

Poverty concentrated and entrenched in certain areas

Measures disadvantage by postcode area in Vic and New South Wales

RMIT University©2011 Information Technology Services 10

A report

commissioned

by Jesuit

Social

Services and

Catholic

Social

Services

Australia

RMIT University©2011 Information Technology Services 11

DISADVANTAGE FACTOR CORRELATIONS: VICTORIA: CRIME

.601 Low job skills

.535 Job Qualifications

.633 Disability Pensions

.544 Year 12 Incomplete

.534 Low income

RMIT University©2011 Information Technology Services 12

DISADVANTAGE FACTOR CORRELATIONS: VICTORIA: IMPRISONMENT

.466 Low job skills

.444 Low pre-school attendance

.411 Unemployment

.379 Year 12 Incomplete

.506 Low taxable income

.527 Child mistreatment

.661 Public rental housing

Call for a reform of the Australian Criminal Justice System.Senator Jim Webb, U.S. 2009, National Criminal Justice Commission

The United States:

5% of the world’s population

25% of the world’s prison population

The use of the criminal justice system to deal with social disadvantage, mental illness and addiction must be halted.

Major concerns here in Victoria:

•Sentencing reforms, limiting judicial discretion

•Post sentence detention (Patrick Keyzer’s paper)

•Armed guards on metropolitan railway stations

The role of the legal profession in criminal justice reform needs to be addressed….

Victorian Legal Aid is setting a lead in this area

Community Legal Centres play a pivotal role also

The Victorian Law Institute is increasingly active

BUT…. The tide is still heading in the wrong direction

The legal profession faces a serious risk of being compromised in terms of its commitment to promote justice

So do the social service providers, including the church based organisations: too concerned with their contracts and funding opportunities….

Clearly individual advocacy is a critical core responsibility of the legal profession

But it is imperative to draw conclusions from such professional practice to address structural issues and causes

Where should the emphasis be?

Good social planningEmphasis on community cohesionEarly intervention and preventionEducational opportunities for allAccessible health servicesMinimise the role of criminal justice…

The battle is on right now……

We need to turn the tide of repression and social control

Encourage the energy of young advocates and social reformers

VLA Criminal Law Conference

A remarkable gathering of those committed to the promotion of justice in our society

May our discussions today consolidate that commitment to positive change and reform