wudka
02-02-2010, 02:42 PM
NSW govt to toughen police pursuit laws February 2, 2010 - 3:34PM
AAP
Tough new legislation to crack down on criminals who lead police on high-speed chases will fill a gap in the law, the NSW government says.
The new laws follow a recent spate of police chases, including one that resulted in the death of 19-month-old Skye Sassine after two alleged robbers veered into her parents' car in Sydney's southwest on New Year's Eve.
A new offence of aggravated dangerous driving has been created to more effectively punish any driver leading police on a dangerous or potentially life-threatening pursuit.
People who lead police on such chases will face jail sentences of three years, and up to five years for repeated offences, regardless of whether anyone is hurt.
The legislation will be introduced in state parliament later this month.
"Whilst the legislation will formally be an amendment to the Crimes Act, it is likely that many in the community will call it Skye's Law," Premier Kristina Keneally told reporters in Sydney on Tuesday.
"While that is understandable, we should never forget that this young girl's life, and her family's love for her is so much greater than one piece of legislation."
Under existing laws, the offence of failing to stop when instructed by police carries a one year penalty, and dangerous driving occasioning death while in a police pursuit carries a maximum sentence of 14 years.
"What these new offences do is fill a gap, a gap that now exists between these low level offences and more serious driving charges," Ms Keneally said.
NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said there had been a marked drop in police pursuits over the past five years, with 1800 incidents recorded five years ago, compared to 2200 in 2005.
"Interestingly, well over half of these, something like 65 per cent of those pursuits, come about as a result of a traffic offence," Mr Scipione said.
"But of course the problem that frontline police officers deal with daily, because someone has broken a road law, you still don't know what it is that has caused them to do that."
AAP
Tough new legislation to crack down on criminals who lead police on high-speed chases will fill a gap in the law, the NSW government says.
The new laws follow a recent spate of police chases, including one that resulted in the death of 19-month-old Skye Sassine after two alleged robbers veered into her parents' car in Sydney's southwest on New Year's Eve.
A new offence of aggravated dangerous driving has been created to more effectively punish any driver leading police on a dangerous or potentially life-threatening pursuit.
People who lead police on such chases will face jail sentences of three years, and up to five years for repeated offences, regardless of whether anyone is hurt.
The legislation will be introduced in state parliament later this month.
"Whilst the legislation will formally be an amendment to the Crimes Act, it is likely that many in the community will call it Skye's Law," Premier Kristina Keneally told reporters in Sydney on Tuesday.
"While that is understandable, we should never forget that this young girl's life, and her family's love for her is so much greater than one piece of legislation."
Under existing laws, the offence of failing to stop when instructed by police carries a one year penalty, and dangerous driving occasioning death while in a police pursuit carries a maximum sentence of 14 years.
"What these new offences do is fill a gap, a gap that now exists between these low level offences and more serious driving charges," Ms Keneally said.
NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said there had been a marked drop in police pursuits over the past five years, with 1800 incidents recorded five years ago, compared to 2200 in 2005.
"Interestingly, well over half of these, something like 65 per cent of those pursuits, come about as a result of a traffic offence," Mr Scipione said.
"But of course the problem that frontline police officers deal with daily, because someone has broken a road law, you still don't know what it is that has caused them to do that."