Page 705 - Week 02 - Thursday, 25 February 2010
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offence if the person knew that a group engaged in criminal activity and actively participated in that criminal activity. Legal activities of a group or law-abiding members of a group will not be committing any offence and the provisions will not apply.
The bill does not contemplate introducing a “declaration” process relating to either groups or individual members. Further, the conduct prohibited by the offence is conduct that constitutes criminal activity. Innocent association or social interactions, even if between members of a group who have fallen foul of the provisions and who may have been convicted under the provisions, will not amount to a criminal offence.
In addition to this, the bill makes it an offence to recruit people to engage in criminal activities and, in particular, creates an offence with a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment if the person recruited is under the age of 18. The government strongly believes that exploiting the vulnerability of a person under the age of 18 in order to further criminal interests is particularly reprehensible. The increased penalty for this offence reflects this sentiment.
This bill represents a strengthening of the territory’s ability to combat serious organised crime and balances the rights of individuals against the protection of society and the reduction of crime. I commend the bill to the Assembly.
Debate (on motion by Mrs Dunne) adjourned to the next sitting.
Crimes (Surveillance Devices) Bill 2010
Mr Corbell, pursuant to notice, presented the bill, its explanatory statement and a Human Rights Act compatibility statement.
Title read by Clerk.
MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Water, Minister for Energy and Minister for Police and Emergency Services) (10.22): I move:
That this bill be agreed to in principle.
The Crimes (Surveillance Devices) Bill 2010 is the next step in the government’s commitment to provide ACT Policing with modern tools to detect and dismantle organised crime by providing a legal framework for the use of surveillance devices.
This bill is the third piece of legislation that the government has introduced into the Assembly to give effect to the cross-border investigative powers for law enforcement model legislation. This model legislation has been prepared by the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General and Australasian Police Ministers Council joint working group on national investigation powers.
The bill creates a scheme that will authorise the use of surveillance devices by law enforcement officers in the ACT that can also be used in other jurisdictions with
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