NCJ Number
97291
Date Published
1984
Length
73 pages
Annotation
This summary of seminar proceedings focuses on the courts, the treatment of offenders, and policing in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and addresses the possibility of self-government for the ACT.
Abstract
The continuing debate about appropriate policing structure for the ACT and the relationship of ACT's policing to the operations of the Australian Federal Police are addressed. The confused state of criminal law in the ACT is reported, and the first part of the reform program for ACT criminal law is described. The reform included the removal of archaic or nonoperative provisions as well as the adoption of some reforms made interstate. Some of the components in the second stage of a reform package are delineated, and the importance of institutionalizing commitment to reform is emphasized. The Federal role performed by the ACT Supreme Court is noted, and the need to preserve the status of that court is emphasized. Reasons why Supreme court trials take longer in Canberra -- and therefore cost more -than trials elsewhere in Australia are considered. Prison facilities in the ACT are described, the pattern of offenses is identified, and the use of New South Wales Prisons and juvenile institutions is addressed. Finally, the need for citizens of the ACT to have self-government opportunities parallel to those for other citizens of Australia is noted, and issues which must be faced in the ACT, whether or not it becomes self-governing, are highlighted. Three tables showing police trends in Australia are presented.