January 30th changes were made to the crimes act (2000) to help stop one punch violence in Sydney’s CBD after a senseless act of violence took the life of a Sydney teen. The changes that were made, gives a harsher jail sentence if a life is taken, and if the attacker if intoxicated at the time there is a minimum sentence of eight years, this is only the second time in recent history a minimum sentence has been put in place. More transport out of the CBD was also put into place after the amendment was passed, to give a safe option home after a night out. Places that sell alcohol have also been effected by having to stop people from purchasing alcohol after a certain time. 7th July 2012, Kieran Loveridge stumbles drunk around kings cross. He …show more content…
These amendments happened in 2014 and meant that Kieran Loveridge just missed out on harder sentences for taking the life of Thomas Kelly, and there was utter outrage at the sentence that Kieran received which was six years for the manslaughter of Thomas Kelly and when added in with the assaults of the other victims of that night his sentence came to a total of 7 years and two months. With the harder sentences for those who take the life or injure with one punch will help deter people when they have full control over their thoughts and actions, but with most of the violence happening when the perpetrator is intoxicated they may not have the full mental capacity to realize the severity of the actions they are about to use or that with a single punch they could severely injure or even kill the victim. When intoxicated, people have an inhibited sense of right and wrong. Under the governments Crimes and Other Legislation Amendment (Assault and intoxication) Act 2014, people with a blood-alcohol concentration level that register at the level of .15 will be presumed intoxicated. The blood-alcohol level .05 is the benchmark level used to measure low range drink driving offences, police will also be able to take a more flexible view on whether someone is intoxicated based on verbal and physical cues. One punch laws have been set in place in both the Northern territory and Western Australia after very similar cases to the one of Thomas Kelly with all three being widely publicized and followed intensely on all platforms of
The criminal justice system plays a fundamental role in achieving justice, as the system aims to protect all members of the community fairly and equally. However, in the criminal case of R v Loveridge, it is evident that the justice system fails to apply the law to equally balance the needs of the victims and the community. In this case, the offender Kieran Loveridge pleaded guilty to five counts of offences; three charges of common assault, one charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and one charge of manslaughter by an unlawful and dangerous act, the victim being Thomas Kelly, Loveridge received 4 years’ non-parole for manslaughter, Loveridge’s total effective sentence therefore is 7 years and 2 months with an effective
The Law Enforcement Powers and Responsibilities Act 2002 (NSW) (commonly abbreviated as LEPRA), is a piece of legislation which was introduced into the State of New South Wales in response to the Wood Royal Commission enquiry into NSW Police. The Commission identified that there was a strong reliance on the common law in relation to the powers of law enforcement officers, and recommended that there was enough desirability to have these powers (and as a consequence the rights of ordinary citizens) more clearly defined via statute to protect both parties interests . These recommendations were made in an effort to better achieve social justice, and to ensure that there was a sufficient balance between what the police can legally do, and what
Case 1 is an appeal to the conviction rendered by District Court Judge Bradley on
This provision outlines a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment if found guilty of deliberately and negligently choking, suffocating or strangling an individual to the point of significant harm. It further outlines a maximum penalty of 25 years imprisonment if found guilty of committing such act with additional
Mentioned the impact on the victim, society and communities and the transport police but could do with more detail and facts or references statistics.
However the government have not just been attempting to raise awareness about the effects of drink driving but also putting in place stricter measures for offenders so that people are deterred even more from driving whilst they are under the influence of alcohol. At present the maximum penalty for being caught drinking and driving is a £5000 fine, a ban on the individual’s driving licence and 6 months imprisonment. If the individual causes a road collision whilst they are under the influence of alcohol and cause a fatality, they can be sentenced to a maximum of 14 years in prison. Apart from the initiatives in place to prevent drinking and driving, there have been other government initiatives used in order to stop people from using their phones when they are driving, to wear their seatbelt whilst they are driving and to prevent road rage by raising awareness.
What used to be a private issue has significantly reformed to be punishable by law highlighting society’s changing values. The main victims of domestic violence are usually women and children who are subjected to extreme abuse by the spouse. The Family Law Act 1975(Cth) established the Family court which attempted to address issues of domestic violence. However, the imposition of this legislation has reflected societal concerns where the law does not effectively deal with domestic violence as cases are continually unreported. Also, police are not adequately investigating the issue. For example, in the case of Swan, Wayne v D.P.P (2008) an indigenous woman was reluctant in reporting abuse until she was caught wandering the streets, heavily affected by alcohol. Due to cultural barriers, indigenous woman are compelled endure intense abuse in the household. The enactment of Crimes Amendment (Apprehended Violence) Act 1999(NSW) made it mandatory for police to investigate breaches of apprehended domestic violence orders (ADVOs) and arrest perpetrators if necessary. Greater use of ADVOs and investigation has reduced the amount of verbal abuse, physical violence and harassments. However, the case of Jean Majdalawi (1996) forced legislations to take further actions as the victim was shot in the head by her husband outside Parramatta Family Court even though an ADVO had been filed against him. Consequently, the event
Discuss the potential criminal liability of Jonty and Patrick for the non-fatal offences against the person, including any relevant defences (50 marks)
“One punch” assaults known as “The King Hit” have cost over 90 lives since the year 2000. New South Wales have had the largest number of one punch assaults which is 28, followed by Queensland and Victoria who have recorded 24 cases each. Picture this, imagine a teenage boy who is having fun with his mates, and he gets “King Hit” by a stranger in which had taken his life. You would think that the killer would receive a very harsh prison sentence right? Well that isn’t always the case. One person who was a victim in a situation very similar to this. Thomas Kelly. Thomas Kelly is an 18 year old boy who was “King Hit” in Kings Cross in New South Wales. All it took was one punch to end his life. The attacker received a 4 year
Not Criminally Responsible on account of Mental Disorder (NCRMD) is a legal defence by excuse mostly used in countries such as Australia and Canada. It is well stipulated in criminal laws of such countries where a defendant may argue that they should not be held criminally responsible for breaking the law on the grounds that they are were mentally ill at the time when they committed the criminal offence (Penney, 2013). The issue of NCRMD may only arise on the following occasions (1) the accused committed the act or omission that formed the basis of the offence without motivation or intent and (2) at the time of the act or omission, the accused suffered from a mental disorder which made him/her incapable of fully being aware of the the nature, character and consequences of the act.
Section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 to an extent has added to the existing criminal remedies by focussing not just on the physicality of domestic violence but also the psychological aspect in terms of controlling and coercive behaviour (coercive meaning acts used to harm or frighten and controlling meaning acts used to make another subordinate by isolating and depriving them ). However, it has not significantly changed the rules of evidence in protecting victims of domestic violence. In this light, it can be argued that there are problems with the implementation of section 76 in that it does not fully protect victims of domestic violence.
The Sentencing Reform Act is associated with the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984, were the U.S. federal statute increased the consistency in the United States federal sentencing. The Sentencing Reform Act created the United States Sentencing Commission. This act allowed the independent commission into the judicial branch of the United States Sentencing Commission. It consists of seven voting members and one nonvoting member. For the sake of the United States Sentencing Commission, there are regulations that establish sentencing policies and practices for the Federal criminal justice system, which ensures a meeting of the purposes of sentencing. Judges are also bestowed the power to determine the legitimacy of convictions. The aspiration of the Sentence Reform Act was to avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities among defendants with similar records who have been found guilty of similar criminal conduct Also to allow the Judicial system to process....
The laws were strategically designed to disproportionately affect or communities. For example, before the passage of the Fair Sentencing Act in 2010, the possession and selling of crack cocaine (used predominantly in black communities) was harsher than possessing and selling powdered cocaine (used predominantly in other communities), even though data proved that both drugs had the same adverse effects on their consumers. It's unfortunate that as a result of certain illegal drugs now having a devastating impact on other communities, many are calling for sympathy and allocation of funds towards treatment, education, and prevention, but our community was faced with a frivolous "war on drugs"
Safety is a fundamental right that we all deserve. Most of us rely on the government to provide this security. We pay for this through taxes, but the question that we must ask ourselves is are we getting what we are paying for? By paying our taxes to the government we are giving it the authority to choose the service we are getting back. The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) is an Act of Parliament which instituted a legislative
Since 1995, a year after the YOA came into effect; all areas of offences have increased. This would included all persons ages 17 and under or less charged with an offence that was dealt with informally by the police. The total of all offence in 1985 was at 188,958 and by the year 1989 it had jumped to 225, 766 so an increase of 36,808 in just 4 years. A big suprise was in the rise in numbers of the Drug offence. In 1985, it was at 4,290 and in 1986 it jumped up to 4,767, but by the year 1989 it was at 4,253. In that 5 year period it decreased by 43 but at least it is a start in one area (Ruffo, 4,1994). But it is not really young people committing the crimes because a