Bail laws to be strengthened to protect public safety
Bail laws to be strengthened to protect public safety
The Government is to make a series of changes
to bail laws to improve public safety.
The changes build on work the Government achieved in its first 100 days in office to reverse Labour's 2007 decision which made it easier for defendants to get bail.
"This announcement fulfils the other half of our 2008 election promise to review aspects of the bail system," Mr Power said.
The changes were canvassed in a public consultation document released on March 15 this year which provided a series of preliminary proposals for the public to make submissions on. The public had two months to submit on the document and 49 submissions were received.
"These changes are designed to achieve the right balance between public safety and a defendant's right to be considered innocent until proven guilty, and to not be arbitrarily detained."
The proposals fall into three categories and will be included in a Bail Amendment Bill to be introduced to Parliament early next year. They include:
Reverse the burden of proof to target defendants arrested for the worst crimes and those at the highest risk of offending while on bail:
*
Defendants charged with murder or serious class A drug
offences will have to prove they don't pose a risk to the
public or their trial in order to be granted bail, as
opposed to the prosecution having to prove a defendant poses
a risk of absconding, interfering with witnesses or
evidence, or offending while on bail. The reverse burden for
murder recognises the seriousness of the offence while for
class A drug offences it recognises that a third of
defendants offend while on bail.
* Widening the list
of violent and sexual offences where the reverse burden of
proof applies to those with a history of such offending to
include sexual conduct with a young person under 16,
kidnapping, aggravated burglary, and assault with intent to
rob. This focuses on defendants with the highest risk of
committing serious offences while on bail, rather than those
with the highest rates of offending on bail (which may
include non-serious or trivial offences).
Improving the integrity of the bail system:
* To confirm current
practice, making it clear in legislation that bail will not
be granted in return for information. Public safety and a
fair trial must be the primary concern when deciding whether
to grant bail. Bail should not be used as a bargaining chip
in return for information from the criminal underworld.
* Increasing the penalty for failure to answer Police bail
so that the offence is punishable by up to three months'
imprisonment, in addition to the existing penalty of a fine
of up to $1000.
* Reducing the number of situations
where a defendant is "bailable as of right" because some of
these offences can cause serious harm to others (eg.
abandoning children, injury by an unlawful act, and failing
to provide the necessaries of life).
* Putting the
electronically monitored bail regime into legislation to
ensure it is administered consistently and
effectively.
Strengthening bail for young defendants:
* Making defendants aged 17 to 19
years old who have previously served a prison sentence
subject to the standard (adult) tests for bail, rather than
the strong presumption in favour of bail that currently
applies (a court may remand a defendant of this age in
custody only if it is satisfied there is no other course of
action acceptable in the circumstances, or if the reverse
burden of proof applies). Between 2004/09 more than half of
young defendants in this category offended while on
bail.
* Enabling the court to detain defendants under
17 years of age who significantly or repetitively breach
bail conditions. Currently, unless it is a particularly
serious breach of bail conditions there is little police can
do to immediately act on a breach.
* Enabling police
to uplift young defendants found in breach of court-imposed
curfews, and return them home or to a place where they will
comply with the curfew.
"New Zealanders have a right to feel safe in their homes and their communities and these changes reinforce that.
"These changes will improve public confidence in the bail system and ensure that bail will be harder to get in marginal cases where the court would previously have had no choice but to release a defendant on bail."
Mr Power said the changes will result in some increase in fiscal costs for the justice sector, such as additional costs for legal aid, and costs resulting from more defendants spending time in prison pending trial. It is estimated the extra cost could be up to $4.5 million per year with the funding coming from existing baselines.
More information on the Government's review of parts of the bail system is available here bail-in-new-zealand-reviewing-aspects-of-the-bail-system-1 .
More information on the Government's 2008 changes to
bail which reversed the Labour Government's increase in the
threshold for remand in custody from 'a risk' that the
defendant may abscond, interfere with witnesses or evidence,
or offend on bail, to 'a real and significant risk' can be
found here http://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/minister-delighted-bail-bill-passed
.