The Attorney General and Chief Justice have ignored issues raised by law enforcement and legal representatives regarding the centralised bail courts, which will commence across regional NSW today.
While the introduction of AVL is meant to create greater flexibility, a 12 pm cut-off for a bail application means that offenders arrested after 9am are unlikely to be seen by the courts that day. This will see offenders held in custody for up to an additional 24 hours while awaiting appearance before a magistrate.
With crime occurring at all hours, police officers and Corrective Services officers’ work 24 hours a day. This is not reflected in the operating hours of the courts, which should be extended to reflect this and dispense justice in a timely fashion.
“Key stakeholders that use the court system have been ignored, and feedback disregarded, with this centralised model set up for the benefit of the court and the magistrates that run it.” PANSW President Kevin Morton said.
“By law, police officers have a duty to put offenders before a magistrate as quickly as possible. Yet it is an arbitrary deadline being set by the courts that will prevent this from happening.”
“Police are required to interview and process the offender, manage the paperwork for the court and organise a connection to legal representation in a secure room, all before 12pm. The paperwork alone can take hours.”
“This will cause a strain on the frontline, with additional police being taken off the streets to support this system and not responding to emergency calls for assistance from the public.”
“In areas where Corrective Services are unable to collect them, potentially vulnerable people, including those with mental health issues, will be forced to spend hours into the afternoon or overnight in a cell at the police station waiting for the next day’s bail listing.”
Police and legal representatives have already flagged the administrative backlog and delays since the introduction of the centralised weekend bail courts, which were introduced last year. A range of stakeholders, from NSWPF to the legal fraternity and Aboriginal Legal Services, have raised concerns about the processes that commence today.
The Attorney General’s office has provided no certainty around the administrative process and how long it will take for paperwork to reach police officers following a bail determination. The PANSW had requested that the date be pushed back by a month to allow for proper consultation with users and create a system that works for all, but the Chief Magistrate rejected this request.
“The courts have created a system that benefits themselves, and we fear vulnerable prisoners will be held longer in police custody, causing a greater risk and taking police off the road, preventing them from performing their core duties.” PANSW President Kevin Morton said.
“Magistrates continue to operate during what appears to be school hours while bail-refused offenders pile up in police stations.”
“We need a system that is fit for purpose for the present and the future, for stakeholders and users who expect justice to be dispensed fairly and without delay. The PANSW believes the court should be there to serve the users, not the inflexible setup proposed. We need to see these court hours expanded, accepting paperwork for lodgement and dispensing justice from 8 am and into the evening as late as 10 pm. Access to timely justice is a right in this state”.
Media contact:
Elyssa King
PANSW Media Officer
0484 777 780 | media@pansw.org.au