Never one to miss an opportunity to stir up fear over crime, Simon Power now wants us to believe that we’re less safe because of the rise of “violent offenders” being granted home detention. As is increasingly common inside his caucus, he’s hoping that we’ll overlook the detail.
The background is that in the last few years the proportion of violent, sex and drug offenders on home detention has risen from about 40 percent to about 50 percent. Simon says:
“What these numbers say is that increasingly people who are charged with violent offences are getting home D. That was not what was intended when the sentence was first introduced … the public were assured it was intended for those who only posed a minimal risk.”
Simon, the reason they’re on home detention is because a judge thought just that – that they don’t pose an undue risk. Are you claiming that eligibility for home detention should be based on whether a person’s crime fits within a certain category rather than on the actual risk they pose?
Sounds to me like a recipe for disaster.
Powered by WPtouch Mobile Suite for WordPress