The delay in abolishing suspended sentences is welcome, but Tasmania will remain at risk of higher rates of crime until Attorney General Vanessa Goodwin completely abandons her bizarre policy of increasing crime rates by abolishing all suspended sentences.
“Any time you have to crabwalk away from an election promise it’s of course very embarrassing. However, this is a step in the right direction, but in order to make Tasmania safer Dr Goodwin should accept reality and support suspended sentences as a crucial weapon in the fight against crime,” said Greens Justice spokesperson Nick McKim MP.
“While Dr Goodwin remains wedded to a policy which flies in the face of all correctional evidence she is basically saying to Tasmanians that we have to put up with higher crime rates in order to suit the Liberals’ political agenda.”
“If the Liberals had put a bit of thought and research into their original policy, Dr Goodwin would not be in the mess she finds herself in.”
“The Sentencing Advisory Council in Victoria has found that the likelihood of reoffending following imprisonment is 24.6% higher than for wholly suspended sentences. It’s time that Dr Goodwin based her corrections policy on evidence not cheap politics.”
“The Sentencing Advisory Council have been hamstrung by the Attorney’s Terms of Reference, which do not allow the Council to recommend the retention of suspended sentences,” Mr McKim said.
Nick McKim MP | Greens Justice spokesperson
