source : the age
It will be mandatory for victims’ registries to contact survivors of the most serious crimes about key decisions regarding their offenders under proposed NSW laws aimed at closing a major loophole in the justice system that has left people in the dark about their attacker’s movements.
Following the Herald‘s revelation that a celebrated police officer who barely survived a savage ambush was not told about her offender’s impending release, NSW Premier Chris Minns vowed to reform the victims’ registers that alert people to the release of their perpetrator.
Samantha Barlow with her husband, Laurence.Credit: Janie Barrett
People who opt in to the registers receive updates about their offender’s progress through the custodial system, including the offender’s location, sentence, parole eligibility and other major changes.
But, as it emerged that many victims were not aware of the registers’ existence – leaving some concerned they could have crossed paths with their offenders without even knowing they were living in the community – there were calls for the system to become opt-out.
In response to the outrage, the Minns government will on Tuesday introduce legislation to parliament that stops short of applying an opt-out model, but which ensures victims receive a “mandatory notification” about their right to sign up.
A joint statement released by Attorney-General Michael Daley and Corrections Minister Anoulack Chanthivong said eligible victims of serious offenders will be sent a mandatory notification about the relevant register and their eligibility to opt in.
If they are unsure of their wishes at the time, they will have the option to be contacted at a later date to discuss registering.
The government chose to keep the registry as opt-in “to strike the appropriate balance between ensuring that victims are aware of their right to be on the register, while importantly maintaining victims’ choice and avoiding re-traumatisation”, the statement read.
The offenders who will trigger the mandatory notification to victims or their families will generally include murderers, those serving life sentences and those serving a combined minimum sentence of 12 years for offences such as attempted murder, serious sexual assault, abduction and aggravated robbery.
The statement said the decision was made after several months of consultations between Corrective Services NSW – which oversees the registries – and victim-survivors, victim advocates and victim support services.
Last October, this masthead revealed that former police officer Samantha Barlow felt betrayed by the legal loophole, which meant she only discovered her violent attacker was earmarked for parole through a call from a friend.
Corrections Minister Anoulack ChanthivongCredit: Steven Siewert
Drug addict Roderick Holohan was on parole for the second time after two attacks on women when he bashed off-duty Barlow with a brick in May 2009.
Barlow miraculously survived, but it left her and husband Laurence unable to carry on as police officers. They have spent the past 15 years rebuilding their lives in regional NSW.
They were furious to learn, through a friend, that Holohan had a parole hearing almost a year earlier and, had he been released then, they may have crossed paths without them even knowing he was out.
Barlow said she was not approached by the victims’ registry and effectively fell through the cracks.
Roderick Holohan, who attacked off-duty police officer Samantha Barlow.Credit: Seven News
“There are no words that can accurately describe the sense of betrayal that comes from something like this,” Barlow said at the time as she described having just days to compile a statement pleading for Holohan not to be released.
She urged the NSW government to ensure victims of offences punishable by a sentence of five years’ jail or more are automatically added to the register and remain unless they opt out.
Following the Herald’s report, Chanthivong said he found that victims of crimes were discovering the opt-in register only in limited circumstances.
The minister’s office discovered that no single agency involved – NSW Police, the Director of Public Prosecutions, or Corrections – was compelled to notify victims about the scheme.
Responding to the reforms, Chanthivong said they were “about ensuring that victims of serious crimes know about the victims registers and have a clear opportunity to sign up and benefit from being registered”.
“We have listened to the voices of victims, and we are responding to their call to improve the system, whilst balancing the critical need to avoid re-traumatising those victims who do not wish to be re-exposed to the heinous crimes of their offenders”.
Daley said the changes were “important to help victim survivors engage in the legal process in a way that is empowering and promotes recovery”.
The three NSW victims registers include the Corrective Services NSW Victims Register, the Youth Justice Victims Register and the Specialist Victims Register for victims of forensic patients.
In November, Holohan was quietly released out the back gate of a Sydney prison after the NSW government abandoned a plan to challenge his parole.
The State of NSW and the commissioner of Corrective Services had opposed Holohan’s release, while Barlow warned that the state would become more dangerous for women with him walking the streets.
The State Parole Authority (SPA) said no parole was risk-free, but it was safer to supervise Holohan outside prison than to release him unsupervised at the end of his sentence.
