Editorial:

The "law and order" babble

In successive elections the Carr Government has trotted out the issue of 
"law and order". In the run-up to the State election due in March of next 
year Bob Carr is at it again. The State Liberal opposition is doing the 
same. Each of the parties is vying to outdo the other in terms of more 
severe penalties, more money for police and more jails.

It is a sure sign that neither the Labor nor Liberal Parties have policies 
to meet the real issues that confront the people, including the social 
issues that are the main reason for crime in the community. They 
deliberately promote fear and the sentiment of vengeance in the community 
to justify their savage measures — and to win votes. It is perhaps 
understandable that some of those who have suffered as a result of criminal 
activities look for vengeance but there is no evidence that retribution is 
a deterrent to crime. Rehabilitation and removing the social conditions 
which are the cause of many crimes is the best and proven course to reduce 
crime.

Premier Carr announced legislation that sets "standard minimum sentences" 
for a long list of crimes ranging from murder to car jacking. Although Carr 
denies it, the Bill effectively introduces mandatory sentences, undermining 
the independence and authority of judges.

Last year the Labor Party in the Northern Territory was able to defeat the 
conservative government after many years in office, by strongly campaigning 
against mandatory sentencing. Carr is going down the path of the 
conservatives of the Northern Territory ... but does that surprise anyone?

The Bill provides for a sentencing council to monitor the sentences imposed 
by judges and make them more "accountable", another a step that is also 
intended to intimidate and undermine the independence of the judiciary.

The Carr legislation has been strongly attacked by many in the judiciary 
and others who have to deal with crime at first hand. The President of the 
NSW Law Society, Kim Cull, said "Instead of politicians appealing to 
community fear they must come up with long-term solutions in the complex 
issues of law and order. Prison should be a last resort. The cost of 
sending just one person to jail is astronomical." The President of the NSW 
Council for Civil Liberties said, "There is no reason at all for this 
legislation in NSW. The current system is perfectly adequate."

Not surprisingly the President of the NSW Police Association, Ian Ball 
welcomed the legislation while claiming that the courts are "unable to do 
the job".

Professor of criminal law at the University of NSW, David Brown said that 
mandatory sentences of any sort increased the likelihood of injustices by 
preventing judges from making the punishment fit the crime. "We need to put 
more resources into pre-release and post-release programs to reduce 
recidivism", he said and spoke of "a terrible spiral to the bottom in the 
name of populist vengeance".

Carr's solution is more and more jails — private for-profit ones — with 
prisoners incarcerated with ever-longer sentences. When the 2007 elections 
come around and another law and order campaign is trotted out, will the 
sentences being listed today be even further increased?

Not to be outdone, the Liberal Party in both NSW and Victoria are also 
beating the "law and order" drum. In NSW the Liberal leader, John Brogden 
is unashamedly calling for mandatory sentencing having learnt nothing from 
the experience of the Northern Territory conservatives. In Victoria the new 
Liberal leader, Robert Doyle invented figures of "violent crime" claiming 
that they had soared by 45 per cent. He even went to the trouble of 
producing a TV advertisement and put it to air. The only trouble was that 
his figure alleging the staggering increase in violent crime was an 
invention and the advertisement had to be withdrawn.

However, this setback is unlikely to bring an end to the efforts of both 
Liberal and Labor Parties to outdo one another while they cynically trade 
on the crime issue and whip up the alleged "community concern and 
expectations" and channel it into the base sentiments of fear and 
vengeance.

Beware the lies that are repeatedly used to justify the crimes of 
governments.