South Australia

Summary Offences (Vehicle Immobilisation Devices) Amendment Bill 2003

A Bill For

An Act to amend the Summary Offences Act 1953.

Contents

Part 1—Preliminary

1 Short title

2 Commencement

3 Amendment provisions

Part 2—Amendment of Summary Offences Act 1953

4 Amendment of section 4—Interpretation

5 Amendment of section 74B—Road blocks

6 Insertion of section 74BA

The Parliament of South Australia enacts as follows:

Part 1—Preliminary

1—Short title

This Act may be cited as the Summary Offences (Vehicle Immobilisation Devices) Amendment Act 2003.

2—Commencement

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

3—Amendment provisions

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 Summary Offences Act 1953

4—Amendment of section 4—Interpretation

Section 4(1)—after the definition of the Commissioner insert:

major offence means—

(a) an offence attracting a penalty or maximum penalty of life imprisonment or imprisonment for at least seven years; or

(b) an offence against section 86A(1) of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935;

5—Amendment of section 74B—Road blocks

(1) Section 74B(1), definition of major offence—delete the definition

(2) Section 74B(2)(b)—delete "custody" and substitute:

detention

6—Insertion of section 74BA

After section 74B insert:

74BA—Vehicle immobilisation devices

(1) If an authorised police officer believes on reasonable grounds that—

(a) —

(i) the driver of a motor vehicle has disobeyed, or is likely to disobey, a request or signal to stop given under this or any other Act; or

(ii) the use of a vehicle immobilisation device would significantly improve the prospects of apprehending a person—

(A) suspected of having committed a major offence; or

(B) who has escaped from lawful detention; and

(b) a vehicle immobilisation device can be used without undue risk to occupants of the vehicle or persons in the vicinity of the vehicle,

the officer may use a vehicle immobilisation device.

(2) The Governor may, by regulation made on the recommendation of the Minister, declare a device of a specified kind to be a vehicle immobilisation device.

(3) The Minister must not recommend that a device be declared a vehicle immobilisation device unless satisfied that—

(a) the device has been adequately tested in the State or in conditions similar to those found in the State; and

(b) the device can, at an appropriate range of speeds, immobilise a target motor vehicle without undue risk to occupants of the vehicle or persons in the vicinity of the vehicle.

(4) In this section—

authorised police officer means a police officer authorised by the Commissioner for the purposes of this section;

vehicle immobilisation device means a device declared by regulation to be a vehicle immobilisation device for the purposes of this section.