The Phantom of Deterrence: The Crime (Serious and Repeat Offenders) Sentencing Act

Abstract

Throughout 1991 a car theft “crime wave” and a series of deaths arising from high-speed police pursuits had engendered an atmosphere of crisis in “law and order” in Western Australia. Prompted by these events, controversial legislation (the Crime (Serious and Repeat Offenders) Sentencing Act 1992) aimed at “high risk” juvenile offenders and increasing penalties was rushed through the Parliament of Western Australia in early 1992. A critique of the legislation illustrates that it both breached human rights and failed to address the difficulties of implementing selective incapacitation policies. Following the introduction of the new law the government claimed that downward trends in car theft, police high-speed pursuits and other offences were due to the deterrent effects of the increased penalties provided. The data, however, indicate that the decline in official records of car theft and juvenile convictions had begun prior to the introduction of the legislation. Significant correlations between reports of stolen vehicles and arrests for car theft (especially Aboriginal juvenile arrests) were found but not for police high-speed pursuits or arrests of persistent offenders and reports of stolen vehicles. This suggests that targeting “hard core” juvenile offenders had, at best, modest and temporary effects on vehicle theft. While a sharp decline in the relevant statistics was observed around the time of the passage of the law, this proved short-lived and other factors, such as changes in policing (the introduction of cautioning, the formation of a special motor vehicle task force, and stricter guidelines on pursuits) are more compelling explanations than the deterrent aims of the legislation.