A safe, free and democratic society depends on a criminal legal system that is fair, proportionate and capable of recognising the humanity of every person who comes before it.
Mandatory minimum sentencing does the opposite and creates huge risks of injustice. It replaces independent judicial decision-making with rigid rules that prevent courts from delivering justice according to the facts of each case. We must reject suggestions that Victoria adopt minimum sentences.
Judges are entrusted to weigh the seriousness of offending alongside a wide range of factors, including the harm caused, the circumstances of the offender, the interests of victims, the need to protect the community and the prospects of rehabilitation. Mandatory minimum sentences prevent courts from performing that essential function. They require cases that are different to be treated the same, increasing the risk of punishment that is unjust and disproportionate. As the Victorian Court of Appeal has observed, mandatory minimum sentencing can require judges to become “instruments of injustice”, imposing punishments more severe than sentencing principles would otherwise justify.
Importantly, there is no persuasive evidence that mandatory minimum sentencing makes communities safer. Decades of experience in Australia and overseas demonstrate that these laws do not deter offending or reduce crime.
It is particularly important that judges be able to consider the specific circumstances of young people who are in the criminal legal system. Young people are still developing, and do not have the same ability to weigh consequences or make wise decisions. Young people who have made poor decisions should be supported to make better ones. They should not be thrown into jail cells by default.
Young people are also more responsive to rehabilitation and often come before the courts having experienced significant disadvantage or trauma. Rehabilitation is not an alternative to community safety; it is often the most effective way to achieve it. Prisons, on the other hand, are criminogenic: they increase the likelihood of further offending.
The Allan Government must reject calls for mandatory minimum sentencing. We should instead strengthen the institutions that underpin a fair and effective justice system: early intervention and rehabilitation, independent courts, and evidence-based sentencing. If we want a society that is both safer and freer, we should resist simplistic responses to complex problems and remain committed to justice that is principled, humane and grounded in respect for the human rights of every person.