South Australian Numbered Acts South Australian Numbered Acts4—Insertion of Part 2 Division 2A
Part 2—after Division 2 insert:
Division 2A—Serious repeat offenders
20A—Interpretation
(1) In this
Division—
"home invasion" means a criminal trespass committed in a place of residence
while a person is lawfully present in the place and the trespasser knows of
the person's presence or is reckless about whether anyone is in the place;
"serious drug offence" means—
(a) an
offence against section 32 of the Controlled Substances Act 1984 ; or
(b) a
conspiracy to commit, or an attempt to commit, such an offence; or
(c) an
offence of acting as an accessary to the commission of such an offence 1 ;
Note—
1 See section 41 of the Controlled Substances
Act 1984 .
"serious offence" means—
(a) a
serious drug offence; or
(b) one
of the following offences:
(i)
an offence against the person under Part 3 of the
Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 ;
(ii)
an offence of robbery or robbery with violence;
(iii)
home invasion;
(iv)
an offence of damage to property by fire or explosives;
(v)
an offence of causing a bushfire;
(vi)
a conspiracy to commit, or an attempt to commit, an
offence referred to in subparagraph (i), (ii), (iii), (iv) or (v) 2 ; or
Note—
2 A person who acts as an accessary to the
commission of an offence described in paragraph (b) is, by virtue of
section 267 of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 , guilty of the
principal offence
and has, therefore, committed a "serious offence".
(c) an
offence that is committed in circumstances in which the offender uses violence
or a threat of violence for the purpose of committing the offence, in the
course of committing the offence, or for the purpose of escaping from the
scene of the offence.
(2) However, this
Division is to be read subject to the following qualifications:
(a) it
does not apply to, or in relation to, an offence committed by a youth;
(b) an
offence is not to be regarded as a serious offence unless the maximum penalty
prescribed for the offence is, or includes, imprisonment for at least 5 years.
20B—Declaration that person is a serious repeat offender
(1) A person is liable
to be declared a serious repeat offender if the following conditions apply:
(a) the
person has been convicted of at least three offences to which this section
applies; and
(b)
there were at least three separate occasions on which an offence to which this
section applies was committed.
(2) An offence is one
to which this section applies if—
(a) the
offence is—
(i)
a serious offence; or
(ii)
an offence against the law of another State or Territory
that would, if committed in this State, be a serious offence; or
(iii)
an offence against a law of the Commonwealth dealing with
the unlawful importation of drugs into Australia; and
(b)
either—
(i)
a sentence of imprisonment (other than a suspended
sentence) has been imposed for the offence; or
(ii)
if a penalty is yet to be imposed—a sentence of
imprisonment (other than a suspended sentence) is, in the circumstances, the
appropriate penalty.
(3) If a court
convicts a person of a serious offence, and the person is liable, or becomes
liable as a result of the conviction, to a declaration that he or she is a
serious repeat offender, the court—
(a) must
consider whether to make such a declaration; and
(b) if
of the opinion that the person's history of offending warrants a particularly
severe sentence in order to protect the community—should make such a
declaration.
(4) If a court
convicts a person of a serious offence, and the person is declared (or has
previously been declared) to be a serious repeat offender—
(a) the
court is not bound to ensure that the sentence it imposes for the offence is
proportional to the offence; and
(b) any
non-parole period fixed in relation to the sentence must be at least
four-fifths the length of the sentence.