- 'Robin Hood in reverse seen in courts'
- The Herald Sun
- 14/01/2009 Make a Comment
- Contributed by: The Rooster ( 258 articles in 2009 )
A LAW that allows a guilty person to escape criminal conviction is not being misused, New South Wales Attorney General John Hatzistergos says.
Nearly one in six people, or 19,000 people, who committed a crime in 2007 had no conviction recorded, under section 10 of the NSW Crimes Sentencing Procedure Act, Fairfax has reported.
Drink driving was the most common offence dealt with under section 10, but theft, property damage, assault, drug offences and even sexual assault and manslaughter are on the list.
Opposition justice spokesman Greg Smith has called section 10 "Robin Hood in reverse", saying poor people get punished but those who can afford good lawyers get off.
But Mr Hatzistergos says the provision is not a legal loophole and takes into account the degree of the offence and whether the person is likely to re-offend.
"To get a section 10 the court has to firstly form a view that it's inappropriate to effect punishment, bearing in mind the person's character," he said on Fairfax Radio today.
He said most offenders who did not have a conviction recorded had to enter into a good-behaviour bond as part of a section 10.
"If they breach that bond they have to come back before the court to face conviction and sentence for that breach," Mr Hatzistergos said.
The re-offending rate for people granted a section 10 judgment was very low, he said, and crime statistics to be released tomorrow would show a decrease in the use of section 10.
Mr Smith said the section was originally designed for extenuating circumstances such as running a red light while rushing someone to hospital.
But now it benefited the rich and famous, or anyone who could afford a good lawyer, because "magistrates have empathy with a professional presentation".
"This is Robin Hood in reverse - the poor get punished," he said.
Source: https://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24905800-5005961,00.html
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