Bail

Domestic violence bail

Bail (Domestic Violence) and Another Act Amendment Bill 2017

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On Valentines Day 2017, the Opposition Leader, Tim Nicholls introduced the Bail (Domestic Violence) and Another Act Amendment Bill 2017 into the Queensland Parliament. The Bill will see a massive change to domestic violence bail laws. The proposed Bill was prompted by the tragic death of Ms Terresa Bradford, who was killed by her estranged husband two weeks earlier.  Sadly the death was not uncommon with eighteen Queensland women dying in DV related incidents in 2016. Policy Objectives The Bill has five policy objectives: Reverse the presumption of bail for an accused charged with a relevant domestic violence offence; Create a special bail condition for GPS trackers for people charged […]

Electronic Tracking for alleged Queensland DVO offenders

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Following the January 30 death of Teresa Bradshaw, there is a call for bail conditions to include the wearing of a tracking device by alleged domestic violence offenders.  Ms Bradford was killed by her estranged husband, who was on bail for DV offences at the time of her death. The Queensland Police Minister, Mark Ryan said that he has on ‘open mind’ on the introduction of the technology.  This move has also been supported by the Queensland opposition leader, Tim Nicholls. Electronic monitoring was first considered by Dr Ralph Schwitzgebel in 1964.  The technology has since been refined and used in American Courts since 1983. It has the ability to ensure that an alleged domestic violence offender […]

Juvenile Offenders To Be Named and Shamed Under New Laws

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New criminal laws have been passed for juvenile offenders in Queensland with a substantial overhaul of the Qld Childrens Court process.  These changes are substantial in that they remove the requirement for a sentence of imprisonment to be a sentence of last resort and open up the children’s court for repeat offenders.  They go further in that the prohibition against reporting children’s names before, during and after proceedings has been removed for alleged repeat offenders. Changes to Qld Childrens Court The changes to Qld Childrens Court include: Permit repeat offenders’ identifying information to be published; Open the Childrens Court for youth justice matters involving repeat offenders; Create a new offence […]

26 OMCG declared a Criminal Organisation

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New Qld Bikie Laws New Qld Bikie laws have been introduced targeting the illegal activities of criminal gangs in Queensland. The reforms introduce new offences, increased penalties, enhanced powers for Police and the Crime and Misconduct Commission, and stricter bail laws. Liquor Act Changes Changes have been made to the Liquor Act 1992 to prohibit people from entering or remaining on premises, subject to a licence or permit under the Liquor Act, if they are wearing or carrying certain prohibited items (outlined below) which are associated with a declared criminal organisation. It also places obligations on licensees/permittees, approved managers, employees and agents of licensees/permittees that they not knowingly allow anyone wearing or carrying the prohibited […]

Fail to Appear – What happens

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It an offence to fail to appear in court in accordance with a bail undertaking. The court has the power to revoke the bail undertaking, forfeit any sureties and issue a warrant for your arrest. What if I had a really good reason for failing to appear? The Court requires a person to show cause why they have failed to appear and in some exceptional cases, the court will accept a lawful excuse and discharge the person. In showing cause the person needs to establish that they were unable to attend court.  An example might be that the accused person was in hospital with a reasonable medical condition that prevented them from […]