Calling time on criminals

Parliament passed the Bill late last week.

"If you're going to commit these types of offences whilst on bail for the same type of offences, there comes a point where you have to put the community first and the protection of the community first and ultimately bail refuse these young people," Mr Donato told State Parliament.

As a former police prosecutor Mr Donato has a unique perspective and considerable experience regarding what is at the heart of the Bill.

"Whilst I support diversionary programs for wayward youth in our community (and the Orange electorate is fortunate to have several), we also need to up the ante with tougher bail laws to tackle repeat offenders who commit serious crimes," he said.

"Our country communities have had a gutful of being victims to juvenile offenders who run amok.

"I support the government in this endeavour, and this bill.

This piece of legislation is quite specific it is in relation to serious break and enter and motor vehicle offences, which if you look at the BOSCAR reports, clearly in regional NSW they were two of the most prevalent offences.

"We're talking about those between 14 and 18.

"There seems to be no consequences," he said.

According to BOSCAR there were 19 dwelling break and enters and 27 non dwelling break and enters in Cabonne last year.

The first line of the BOSCAR summary, Mr Donato said, says "rates of property crime are considerably higher than in Sydney".

The categories in the report, he said, showed a "clear and precise matrix that offences in the regions are by far higher and in some cases have spiked".

"I am in support of programs that can deter young people, get them involved, get them out of the criminal justice system or just engaged and going to school.

"But there comes a point in time where those programs, when they're committing serious offences, and we're talking about serious break and enter offence or a motor vehicle theft offence, if they're on bail for that offence and they commit a further offence of that nature than the court should be seriously considering refusing bail for the protection of the community.

"It might be a reality of this Bill that more young people become incarcerated but the reality is we also need to protect the community and victims in our community - those who are too scared to go out and night, those who have flashbacks of waking up and finding someone in there house.

"These are things that are happening in my community.

"There are those who have a gutful of being victims of crime, who have had a gutful of working hard to buy a car, to buy a nice house, having it destroyed, having it stolen, having it broken in to.

"They've had a gutful and they turn to there local members and raise these concerns and we are obliged as local members and as a government to do something about it.

"People need to be protected quickly and this legislation does that," he said.