A contributer to Cairns on-line questioned our position on assaults police and crime in general. My response could not be attached to the story as it could have jeopardised the prosecution of an offender so here is our position without referring to any specific case.
Assault police
The sheer volume of assaults on FNQ police is out of control and shows the current system is not working. In all my years I can not recall such a high volume of assaults in such a short period of time.
Our position on assaulting emergency service workers has not changed. The ALP position is to talk tough and do nothing. The LNP position previously was mandatory sentencing. Check out the releases previously put out by Shadow Justice Minister Jarrod Bleijie on mandatory sentencing. He was spot on. Unfortunatley for him Can-Talk Campbell come along with the small target strategy from HQ and they have now reversed their position and are as weak as ALP.
KAP position is clear. Section 340 of the Criminal Code will be amended to include ALL emergency service workers. A serious assault under this section will have set guidelines/criteria to meet for it to be applied. a conviction under this section will result in a term of imprisonment on a sliding scale depending on seriousness and type of assault. Minor and technical assaults will be dealt with under Police Powers and Responsibilities Act provisions, or similar for firies, ambo's, nurses etc, and will not attract mandatory imprisonment.
This sends out a clear message.Assaulting the men and women that are going about their jobs protecting the people and visitors of Queensland is not acceptable.
SPER and fines
See below post on fines. With no enforcement comes no deterrent. Cairns is owed about $500,000 and Qld $100's millions
Re-habilitation programs
There are a number of good re-hab programs used in our system. There is also some totally useless ones. Problem is this govt refuses to conduct a review or assessment of rehab programs so that we can see which ones work and which ones don't. That way we can ensure that resources are directed to where they are needed and most effective. It is crazy that we can't fund programs and trainers to deliver same due to lack of funds because $millions are wasted on things not working.
Early intervention
We need to identify youth issues at an early stage and concentrate resources to deter entry into ongoing crime instead of trying to stop it when it is allready too late. We are not getting advice and input from those that know best on what will and won't work. The young people themselves.
Realistic penalties
Without a consequence for your actions you won't change behaviour. At the end of the day there will be people not detered or prepared to rehabilitate/change their behaviour. In these cases there needs to be penalties to refelct the wishes and expectations of safety by law abiding members of the community.
Bail/Parole reform
The single biggest contributor to Cairns crime rates is people offending whilst on bail or parole/probation. Re-offenders need to be kept in custody. People breaching parole need to stay in custody. A person who has previously breached parole/probation should not be issued Court Ordered Parole.They need to close the loophole that allows juvenile offenders to not commit an offence for breaching bail conditions.
Police staffing model review
The police staffing model needs to be reviewed to ensure that staff and resources are available to meet the needs of Cairns and FNQ. The biggest deterrent to crime in Cairns is police on the streets doing preventative patrols.Police would rather prevent a crime occuring then catch an offender for doing it.
Child porn
Child porn is NOT a victimless crime.A person in possession of such images is a party to the offence(accessory) and should be treated as such. Penalties should reflect that a crime has occured in the image possessed and the owner has contributed to that crime. Sex offender rehab programs shoud be mandatory for all child porn offenders.
As we are committed to real law and order watch this space for more to come....
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