Year: 2009
Type: article
Abstract: Bail is a most crucial stage of pre-trial procedure for accused persons who are presumed to be innocent. In the context of bail, punitive crime policies in New South Wales have led to the gradual erosion of the presumption in favour of bail in relation to many offences, the conflation of bail conditions and penalty and a steady increase in the number of persons being held as prisoners on remand. Continuing this punitive turn in crime policy, the Bail Act 1978 (NSW) was recently amended by the Bail Amendment Act 2007. It is the amendment in respect of s22A, and in particular the resultant changes to the configuration of bail, that is the subject of this article. It is our contention that s22A is ill thought out and without sufficient empirical foundation. In the absence of a rational base for this law-making, it can be characterised as a blatant ‘get tough’ on crime, law and order strategy that has become all too common.
Authors: Tracey Booth, Lesley Townsley
Institution: University of Technology Sydney
Language: English
Topic: Criminal Law and Policy
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W93133197