Men accused of serious domestic violence offences will either be denied bail or be forced to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet under a major shakeup of the state’s bail laws likely to be introduced into parliament this week.
On Tuesday, the Minns government will announce a series of sweeping changes designed to make it harder for men accused of serious domestic violence offences to be released back into the community.
At the centre of the package is a reversal of the presumption of bail against men accused of serious domestic violence offences, which includes intimate partner violence involving elements such as sexual assault, strangulation, kidnapping or coercive control.
NSW Premier Chris Minns will announce those kinds of offences will be subject to what is known as the “show cause” test, which requires an alleged offender to demonstrate why they should be let out into the community.
A requirement for magistrates and judges to consider “red flag” behaviour such as animal cruelty, stalking and verbal or physical abuse when considering bail will be introduced, while courts will need to consider the views of victims and their families.
The government will also make it easier to prosecute perpetrators who use tracking and surveillance devices to control victims.
Meanwhile, changes to weekend courts will ensure bail decisions are made by magistrates and not court registrars as in the case of Ticehurst’s alleged murderer Daniel Billings.
[Ed: Unfortunately tougher laws make women more reluctant to report and police more reluctant to charge men with DV offences and still does nothing about misogynist decision making. Although the article indicates the laws are aimed at men, is the legislation to be sex specific? Otherwise expect to see more mothers refused bail or wearing ankle bracelets as they take their children to school.]
Source: 12ft