Punitive new bail laws will lock up more children
Published on the 18 March 2024
560 academics, legal practitioners and community lawyers call on the NSW Premier to abandon rushed new laws that will make it more difficult for teenagers to be granted bail for certain offences.
The open letter can be read here. In sum, it argues that:
1. The evidence is clear - once bail is denied, children are more likely to be enmeshed in the criminal justice system.
2. The proposed bail changes and new offences will be disastrous for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people.
3. The proposed bail changes and new offences do not address concerns for improved community safety. They undermine the investment made by the Government to resource the real solutions that will work.
4. Evidence-based solutions which are therapeutic and non-punitive must be the priority.
The CCLJ joins 60 organisations in their support of the Aboriginal Legal Service of NSW/ACT (ALS) campaign against these punitive laws in this letter to the Premier.
Further references:
https://www.alsnswact.org.au/children_in_jail_will_not_reduce_crime_and_end_in_disaster