The Justice Reform Initiative expresses its deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Mr Linford Feick and acknowledges the pain being felt across Northern Territory communities.
While there is a need to respond to legitimate community fear and distress following such a devastating incident, policy and lawmaking in the immediate wake of tragedy requires steady, thoughtful leadership.
Dr Mindy Sotiri, Executive Director of the Justice Reform Initiative, urged the Northern Territory Government to resist rushing into tightening bail laws, warning that knee-jerk policy reactions risk undermining community safety in the long term.
"Policy and law making in the wake of tragedy requires incredibly thoughtful leadership – a steady approach that recognises not only the need to respond to legitimate community fear and distress but recognises the risks of rushed policy responses when it comes to addressing law and order issues," Dr Sotiri said.
"Talking 'tough on crime' is a very different proposition to actually addressing crime in the community.
"It is understandable that when devastating crimes are committed by people on bail, governments would consider tightening bail laws. But the real questions we must all ask are: will this work to keep the community safe?"
Dr Sotiri said that while incarcerating people on remand can offer a short-term respite from persistent offending, evidence shows there is no long-term public safety benefit from simply locking more people up.
"If tougher bail laws worked to reduce crime, then jurisdictions like the Northern Territory and Queensland – which already have among the most restrictive bail frameworks in the country – would be the safest places in Australia," she said.
"But that is not what the evidence shows. What we know is that the experience of prison, especially for people on remand who have not been sentenced, makes it more likely – not less – that they will go on to reoffend."
Recent data from Northern Territory Corrections shows the prison population has surged by 24% since September last year. Half of those in prison in the NT are now being held on remand — with 400 additional unsentenced people behind bars over the same period.
NT Coordinator Kirsten Wilson cautioned that rushed changes to bail laws could have further unintended consequences if they aren't carefully focussed and considered. She said governments must be careful not to undermine judicial independence through reactive lawmaking that pressures or mandates judicial decision-making.
"Judges and magistrates must be trusted to weigh up the complex and individual circumstances of each case, including the need to protect community safety," Ms Wilson said.
"When governments legislate to remove or restrict that discretion, we risk doing significant damage to the very principles on which a fair and effective justice system is based — including the presumption of innocence until proven guilty."
"We cannot afford a policy approach that feels tough but doesn't work."
"The Justice Reform Initiative urges the Northern Territory Government to take a steady, evidence-based approach. We must ensure that bail settings strike the right balance in protecting the community, without losing sight of the need for principled decision-making guided by evidence, not politics.
"The Government must also understand that law reform is only ever a small part of shifting a structural and social problem and any changes to legislation must be balanced with greater and targeted investment in bail support services, community programs and First Nations-led initiatives that work to address offending behaviours and keep communities safe in the long term."
