NSW Law Reform Commission – Sentencing Question Papers 5-7

PIAC’s submission to the NSW Law Reform Commission’s Sentencing Question Papers 5-7 focuses on the need to ensure the diversion of people who are homeless and those with a mental illness or chronic disability out of the criminal justice system. The submission calls on the Commission to support the importance of judicial discretion in setting non-parole periods and increase the authority of the court to divert people with complex needs from custodial sentences to therapeutic options. PIAC argues that sentencing options need to have a greater emphasis on therapeutic and remedial outcomes, and to be more flexible and tailored to the particular needs of the offender, particularly those who are homeless, have a mental illness or have a history of alcohol or drug dependency.