Hon Judith Collins
Minister of Justice

10 May 2012

Stronger bail laws to protect public safety

A bill strengthening bail laws to improve public safety had its first reading in Parliament today, Justice Minister Judith Collins says.

The Bail Amendment Bill makes it harder for those accused of serious offences to get bail, and improves the integrity and operational effectiveness of our bail system.

“This Bill achieves the right balance between the public’s right to safety, and the right of alleged offenders to be considered innocent until proven guilty.

“New Zealanders deserve to feel safe in their homes and communities. Our proposed changes will make it harder for the worst alleged offenders with a high risk of serious offending to get bail.

“This Government is committed to bail laws that make New Zealand safer, protect the public, and put victims at the heart of our criminal justice system.

“I urge anyone with an interest in our bail laws to make a submission to the Law and Order Select Committee that will be considering the Bill,” Ms Collins says.

Amendments to bail fall into the following broad categories:

1. Introducing a reverse burden of proof for serious offences

• Defendants charged with murder and serious Class A drug offences, must show they should be released on bail, rather than the prosecution showing the defendant should not be released as is currently the case.
• A broader range of serious violent and sexual offences will now require a defendant to show they should be released on bail when they have a history of such offending.

2. Strengthening bail for young defendants

• Defendants aged 17 to 19 years, and who have previously been imprisoned, will be subject to the standard (adult) tests for bail.
• Police will have new powers to deal with defendants under 17 years old who breach their bail conditions. Police will be able to uplift a young defendant found in breach of their bail curfew and return them home, and will be able to arrest a young defendant who repeatedly or significantly breaches their bail conditions.
• The Youth Court will be able to order the detention of a defendant under 17 if they have repeatedly or significantly breached their bail conditions and are likely to continue to do so.

3. Increasing the penalty for breaching Police bail

• The Bill increases the penalty for failure to answer Police bail (failure to appear in court) to up to three months’ imprisonment, in addition to the existing maximum fine of up to $1000.
• Police will no longer have the ability to impose monetary bonds and sureties on defendants. Such bonds and sureties are not available in the District Court and were seldom, if ever, used by Police.

4. Ensuring the integrity and operational effectiveness of the bail system

The Bill will:

• legislate the electronically monitored bail regime to ensure consistent practices in courts across New Zealand
• make it clear that bail is not to be granted in return for information
• reduce the situations where a defendant will be ‘bailable as of right’
• remove unnecessary limits on the District Court’s jurisdiction to deal with bail for defendants charged with serious drug offences, and
• restore the jurisdiction of Justices of the Peace and Community Magistrates to deal with certain defendants who breach bail.

The Bail Amendment Bill follows the Government’s commitment to review aspects of the bail system to ensure it achieves the right balance between public safety and the defendant’s criminal process rights. The Government consulted the public on the changes in early 2011.

The Bail Amendment Bill has now been referred to the Law and Order Select Committee.

More information on the Government’s review of parts of the bail system is available at http://justice.govt.nz/policy/criminal-justice/bail-amendment-bill.

ENDS

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