Hon C. Christian Porter MLA Attorney General; Minister for Corrective Services Two and a Half Views on Criminal Justice  1. What is the present state of crime, is it rising is it falling – what is happening out there?  2. How punitive is sentencing in WA – How tough are we really?  3. What causes the growth in the prison population and what are the effects of this growth?  4. What policy implications exist for government – what can and should state governments do?

“Two and a Half Views on Criminal Justice” Hon C. Christian Porter MLA Attorney General; Minister for Corrective Services

“Two and a Half Views on Criminal Justice” Hon C. Christian Porter MLA Attorney General; Minister for Corrective Services Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2010, Crime Victimisation, Australia cat. no ABS Canberra

“Two and a Half Views on Criminal Justice” Hon C. Christian Porter MLA Attorney General; Minister for Corrective Services “ The fact that many members of the Australian public hold false views about trends in crime ought to be a matter of serious concern to Australian governments.” Don Weatherburn and David Indermaur, ‘Public Perceptions of Crime Trends in New South Wales and Western Australia,’ (2004) 80 Contemporary Issues in Crime and Justice “A general impression seems to exist that WA is drowning under a crime wave of tsunami proportions that is being encouraged by pathetic sentences imposed by the judiciary. Nothing could be further from the truth.” Hon Wayne Martin CJ, ‘Crime and punishment: the true picture of how it works in WA,’ The West Australian (Perth), 4 June 2009, p 21

“Two and a Half Views on Criminal Justice” Hon C. Christian Porter MLA Attorney General; Minister for Corrective Services “Name and Shame Populist Exploitation. Populism may be widespread, but it is rarely owned by a politician as a badge of honour. The trouble with populism is understood by most politicians even if they embrace a populist approach to gaining electoral success. Thus, one strategy is to name politicians and policies as populists, explain how they are descending into populism and why it is a problem.” David Indermaur, ‘What can we do to engender a more rational and less punitive crime policy,’ (2009) 15 Eur J Crim Policy Res

“Two and a Half Views on Criminal Justice” Hon C. Christian Porter MLA Attorney General; Minister for Corrective Services Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2010, Recorded Crime – Victims Australia cat. no ABS Canberra

“Two and a Half Views on Criminal Justice” Hon C. Christian Porter MLA Attorney General; Minister for Corrective Services Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2010, Recorded Crime – Victims Australia cat. no ABS Canberra

“Two and a Half Views on Criminal Justice” Hon C. Christian Porter MLA Attorney General; Minister for Corrective Services Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2010, Recorded Crime – Victims Australia cat. no ABS Canberra

“Two and a Half Views on Criminal Justice” Hon C. Christian Porter MLA Attorney General; Minister for Corrective Services Source: Department of the Attorney General (WA); Ministerial Briefing

“Two and a Half Views on Criminal Justice” Hon C. Christian Porter MLA Attorney General; Minister for Corrective Services “ Police Initiated Court Proceedings Source: Department of the Attorney General (WA); Ministerial Briefing

“Two and a Half Views on Criminal Justice” Hon C. Christian Porter MLA Attorney General; Minister for Corrective Services Source: John Walker, ‘Trends in Crime and Criminal Justice’ in Duncan Chappell and Paul Wilson (Eds) ‘ The Australian Criminal Justice System: The mid 1990s’ (1994) ; Reproduced in David Indermaur; ‘Violent Crime in Australia: Interpreting the Trends’ (1996) 61 Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice

“Two and a Half Views on Criminal Justice” Hon C. Christian Porter MLA Attorney General; Minister for Corrective Services “ In relation to sentencing, there is a community perception that Judges are increasingly weak when it comes to imposing sentences. The fact is that over the last 20 years in Western Australia, the imprisonment rate has more than doubled.” Hon Wayne Martin CJ ‘ Address by the Hon Wayne Martin; Chief Justice of Western Australia ’ Speech delivered at The Lung Institute of Western Australia Inc, Duxton Hotel Perth, 23 October 2009 “[..] leaving aside the recent change in parole practices, the significant increase in prison numbers over that last 10 years in WA is most likely due to an increasingly punitive judiciary, and not to changes in the law, or to significant increases in the severity of offending.” Hon Wayne Martin CJ ‘ Popular Punitivism -The Role of the Courts in the Development of Criminal Justice Policies’ delivered at The Australian & New Zealand Institute of Criminology Conference, Perth, 23 November 2009

“Two and a Half Views on Criminal Justice” Hon C. Christian Porter MLA Attorney General; Minister for Corrective Services Average Sentence Lengths: Prison Entry Cohorts Source: Department of Corrective Services (WA) Ministerial Briefing

“Two and a Half Views on Criminal Justice” Hon C. Christian Porter MLA Attorney General; Minister for Corrective Services Source: Department of Corrective Services (WA) Ministerial Briefing

“Two and a Half Views on Criminal Justice” Hon C. Christian Porter MLA Attorney General; Minister for Corrective Services Source: Department of Corrective Services (WA) Ministerial Briefing

“Two and a Half Views on Criminal Justice” Hon C. Christian Porter MLA Attorney General; Minister for Corrective Services Source: Department of Corrective Services (WA) Ministerial Briefing

“Two and a Half Views on Criminal Justice” Hon C. Christian Porter MLA Attorney General; Minister for Corrective Services Source: Department of Corrective Services (WA) Ministerial Briefing

“Two and a Half Views on Criminal Justice” Hon C. Christian Porter MLA Attorney General; Minister for Corrective Services Crime and Sentencing - Public View v Skeptic View Over the past 10 years- Homicides, and property offences have decreased, the decrease in the latter category accounts for the overall decrease, and correlates with an increased prison population. Assaults and sexual assaults appear to have increased. This might in part be due to more reporting. Amount of low level, volume crime being dealt with in our courts has dramatically increased. Sentence lengths have remained relatively constant. Proportion of people receiving a term of immediate imprisonment has declined. In the longer term (ie years), it appears there has been a very significant increase in rates of violent crime.

“Two and a Half Views on Criminal Justice” Hon C. Christian Porter MLA Attorney General; Minister for Corrective Services Source: WA Police Annual Reports 2000/01; 2001/02; 2002/03; 2003/04; 2004/05; 2005/06; 2006/07; 2007/08; 2008/09; Department of Corrective Services (WA) Annual Reports 1999/00; 2000/01; 2001/02; 2002/03; 2003/04; 2004/05; 2005/06; 2006/07; 2007/08; 2008/09

“Two and a Half Views on Criminal Justice” Hon C. Christian Porter MLA Attorney General; Minister for Corrective Services Source: Department of Corrective Services (WA) Ministerial Briefing

“Two and a Half Views on Criminal Justice” Hon C. Christian Porter MLA Attorney General; Minister for Corrective Services Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2010, Recorded Crime – Victims Australia cat. no ABS Canberra Department of Corrective Services (WA) Annual Reports 1999/00; 2000/01; 2001/02; 2002/03; 2003/04; 2004/05; 2005/06; 2006/07; 2007/08; 2008/09

“Two and a Half Views on Criminal Justice” Hon C. Christian Porter MLA Attorney General; Minister for Corrective Services Source: Peter Saunders and Nicole Billante ‘Does Prison Work?’ (2002) Vol 18 Policy

“Two and a Half Views on Criminal Justice” Hon C. Christian Porter MLA Attorney General; Minister for Corrective Services Source: WA Police, Ministerial Briefing

“Two and a Half Views on Criminal Justice” Hon C. Christian Porter MLA Attorney General; Minister for Corrective Services A judge’s sentence and reasons are usually exposed to public scrutiny through publication or media reporting. Public responses to sentencing, although not entitled to influence any particular case, have a legitimate impact on the democratic legislative process. Judges are aware that, if they consistently impose sentences that are too lenient or too severe, they risk undermining public confidence in the administration of justice and invite legislative interference in the exercise of judicial discretion. For the sake of criminal justice generally, judges attempt to impose sentences that accord with legitimate community expectations.” Markarian v R [2005] HCA 25 GLEESON CJ, GUMMOW, HAYNE AND CALLINAN JJ at 82

“Two and a Half Views on Criminal Justice” Hon C. Christian Porter MLA Attorney General; Minister for Corrective Services “What we need is a holistic approach…” “We need to look at real systemic change in a sustainable fashion” “What we need is a bipartisan response to these issues” “We need to be tough on the causes of crime, not just the outcomes” “We need to address the root causes of crime” “We need preventative, community based solutions” “We need to focus on rehabilitation and really look at what works”

“Two and a Half Views on Criminal Justice” Hon C. Christian Porter MLA Attorney General; Minister for Corrective Services Source: Department of Corrective Services (WA) Ministerial Briefing

“Two and a Half Views on Criminal Justice” Hon C. Christian Porter MLA Attorney General; Minister for Corrective Services Kimberley – Pilbara- Central- South Eastern Regions ~10% of the State’s Population 15% of Reported Offending 24% of the Prison Population

“Two and a Half Views on Criminal Justice” Hon C. Christian Porter MLA Attorney General; Minister for Corrective Services

“Two and a Half Views on Criminal Justice” Hon C. Christian Porter MLA Attorney General; Minister for Corrective Services InitiativeExpenditure Improved access to Community Child Health Services$49.7million To provide English language tuition to children on temporary 457 visas from non-English speaking backgrounds $13.9million Support and protection services for children and young people, support for individuals at risk or in crisis, additional child protection staff, increased funding for non-government services $43.5million Responsible parenting in regional areas$27.9 million Foodbank Project$6 million Expand School Breakfast Program to deliver breakfast to children in over 300 schools in metro and regional WA $195,000 To expand work done by Clontarf Foundation to improve self- esteem and life skills through its football academies. $5 million To increase short stay accommodation for Aboriginal people – particularly in Broome and Kalgoorlie $13 million Aboriginal Housing in the Kimberley$15 million Regional Benefits Agreement to contribute towards social, health and economic needs of Indigenous people in the Kimberley under the Browse LNG Precinct $110.7 million Ngarluma Aboriginal Sustainable Housing Roebourne$5 million Support not-for-profit organisations and make low-interest loans available to eligible community sector organisations to purchase property, vehicles or other equipment. $10 million Regional Youth Justice Services$43.9 million To respond to unmet training demand through the purchase of an additional 7,600 training places in industry priority areas $19.4 million Bonus payments to employers who take on out-of-contract apprentices and trainees to allow them to complete their apprenticeships and traineeships $3 million