The community is quite rightly sick and tired of seeing criminals receiving suspended sentences. It's a slap in the face to the victims and it does nothing to show the community that justice has been served and that sentences are meaningful and appropriate.
Lara Giddings and Labor want to give criminals a get out of jail free card. It's time Lara Giddings and Labor stopped treating criminals like victims.
Suspended sentences are confusing and conceptually flawed. For a suspended sentence to be imposed, the first thing a judge has to do is decide that the offender has broken the law and the crime warrants jail time. After having decided that the offender should receive a prison sentence, it's illogical that the next decision is whether or not to suspend that sentence.
When Victoria abolished suspended sentences, serious offences in a number of areas actually decreased. The message was simple, offenders will get a sentence that reflects the crime.
We will explore a range of alternatives to suspended sentences in conjunction with the Sentencing Advisory Council, but the community has been very clear – suspended sentences must go.