New law targeting ram raids passes first reading

Legislation aimed at addressing the inability of authorities to hold ram raiders accountable for their crimes has passed its first reading in Parliament.

The Ram Raid Offending and Related Measures Amendment Bill will create a new ram raid offence in the Crimes Act 1961, with a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment, according to a 29 August announcement.

“Sadly, we know many ram raid offenders are children and young people. While the community interventions we’ve introduced have worked for the majority of young offenders, this is about making sure we have the right tools to escalate our response for repeat offenders,” said Justice Minister Ginny Andersen.

“This Bill recognises the significant property damage and harm caused to victims by ram raiders. We’re determined to get on top of this destructive behaviour and these laws will target those who repeatedly engage in ram raids and ensures that there are greater consequences and accountability for their behaviour.”

According to the announcement, the Bill enables 12- and 13-year-olds alleged to have committed the new offence to be charged in the Youth Court, similar to other serious offences, such as aggravated burglary.

“This increases the options available to deal with children who offend, for example, the Bill gives Police the ability to apply for bail conditions. Increasing the range of interventions will help stop repeat offending by children,” Minister Andersen said.

The Bill also contains new measures to crack-down on people who commission or reward children and young people to offend, or who post offending online.

A new aggravating factor in the Sentencing Act 2002 will apply when an adult encourages or incites a person under 18 to carry out an offence. “This aims to deter adults from exploiting children and young people and leading them into a life of crime,” Andersen said.

There will also be a new aggravating factor for posting offending online, with the posting of criminal behaviour online a common feature of ram raids that can encourage “copy-cat” offences.

“It’s completely unacceptable that a victim may be retraumatised by seeing the harm caused to them posted online. This sends a strong message to those who post their crimes in a bid to gain notoriety that they could now face tougher consequences,” Minister Andersen said.