Punishments that don't fit the crime
By Justin Harman
PERTH — On January 22, Western Australian taxi drivers held a picket outside parliament demanding longer and harsher sentences for people convicted of crime. What it lacked in numbers, it made up for in favourable media coverage, as the call again went out for magistrates to stop being "soft on crime".
On January 24, a juvenile went before the children's court. The outcome was known before the trial even began: this 16-year-old was going to prison.
Under the Court state government's harsh new "Three Strikes and You're In" legislation, passed in November, anyone convicted of three burglary offences automatically receives a prison sentence of at least a year, with no consideration of any special circumstances.
The legislation has angered WA legal workers. James McDougal, coordinator of the Youth Legal Service, said: "It gives the appearance of being tough, it gives the appearance of dealing with crime, but in reality it is neither of those things. It is a quick fix solution to what is a complex problem; it's not thought out and it's basically stupid."
Resistance member Corinne Glenn also expressed concern for the effect the legislation will have on young people. "It is the lowering of social conditions by consecutive governments that causes crime. Longer and harsher sentences for young people are merely punishing them for the conditions the governments have created thought cuts to training schemes, Austudy and job search allowances, and through general attacks on social and welfare services."
Like the previous Labor government's Juvenile Justice Act, the Liberals' legislation will have a devastating affect on young people. Says McDougal, "The courts already have a limited range of sentencing options ... this legislation ties their hands further."
Both Liberal and Labor campaigned in the December state election on law and order, portraying themselves as being tough on crime. Both have similarly enacted legislation targeting young people. The introduction of juvenile justice legislation by the Carmen Lawrence Labor government led to developments like the "three strikes" legislation.