CRIMINAL LAW (SENTENCING) (SERIOUS REPEAT OFFENDERS) AMENDMENT BILL 2003

Part 1—Preliminary

Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Criminal Law (Sentencing) (Serious Repeat Offenders) Amendment Act 2003.

Commencement

2. This Act will come into operation on a day to be fixed by proclamation.

Amendment provisions

3. In this Act, a provision under a heading referring to the amendment of a specified Act amends the Act so specified.

Part 2—Amendment of Criminal Law (Sentencing) Act 1988

Insertion of Part 2 Division 2A

4. Part 2—after Division 2 insert:

Division 2A—Serious repeat offenders

Interpretation

20A. (1) In this Division—

"home invasion" means a criminal trespass committed in a place of residence while a person is lawfully present in the place and the trespasser knows of the person's presence or is reckless about whether anyone is in the place;

"serious drug offence" means—

(a)an offence against section 32 of the Controlled Substances Act 1984; or

(b)a conspiracy to commit, or an attempt to commit, such an offence; or

(c)an offence of acting as an accessary to the commission of such an offence¹;

"serious offence" means—

(a)a serious drug offence; or

(b)one of the following offences:

(i)an offence against the person under Part 3 of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935;

(ii)an offence of robbery or robbery with violence;

(iii)home invasion;

(iv)an offence of damage to property by fire or explosives;

(v)an offence of causing a bushfire;

(vi)a conspiracy to commit, or an attempt to commit, an offence referred to in subparagraph (i), (ii), (iii), (iv) or (v)²; or

(c)an offence that is committed in circumstances in which the offender uses violence or a threat of violence for the purpose of committing the offence, in the course of committing the offence, or for the purpose of escaping from the scene of the offence.

^1.See section 41 of the Controlled Substances Act 1984.

^2.A person who acts as an accessary to the commission of an offence described in paragraph (b) is, by virtue of section 267 of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935, guilty of the principal offence and has, therefore, committed a "serious offence".

(2) However, this Division is to be read subject to the following qualifications:

(a)it does not apply to, or in relation to, an offence committed by a youth;

(b)an offence is not to be regarded as a serious offence unless the maximum penalty prescribed for the offence is, or includes, imprisonment for at least 5 years.

Declaration that person is a serious repeat offender

20B. (1) A person is liable to be declared a serious repeat offender if the following conditions apply:

(a)the person has been convicted of at least three offences to which this section applies; and

(b)there were at least three separate occasions on which an offence to which this section applies was committed.

(2) An offence is one to which this section applies if—

(a)the offence is—

(i)a serious offence; or

(ii)an offence against the law of another State or Territory that would, if committed in this State, be a serious offence; or

(iii)an offence against a law of the Commonwealth dealing with the unlawful importation of drugs into Australia; and

(b)either—

(i)a sentence of imprisonment (other than a suspended sentence) has been imposed for the offence; or

(ii)if a penalty is yet to be imposed—a sentence of imprisonment (other than a suspended sentence) is, in the circumstances, the appropriate penalty.

(3) If a court convicts a person of a serious offence, and the person is liable, or becomes liable as a result of the conviction, to a declaration that he or she is a serious repeat offender, the court—

(a)must consider whether to make such a declaration; and

(b)if of the opinion that the person's history of offending warrants a particularly severe sentence in order to protect the community—should make such a declaration.

(4) If a court convicts a person of a serious offence, and the person is declared (or has previously been declared) to be a serious repeat offender—

(a)the court is not bound to ensure that the sentence it imposes for the offence is proportional to the offence; and

(b)any non-parole period fixed in relation to the sentence must be at least four-fifths the length of the sentence.

Repeal of section 22

5. Section 22—delete the section

Printed under the authority of the Government Printer

South Australian Bills

CRIMINAL LAW (SENTENCING) (SERIOUS REPEAT OFFENDERS) AMENDMENT BILL 2003