Justice

All people have the right to safety, peace and freedom from violence.
Investment in community engagement and early intervention should be prioritised over punitive regimes centred on incarceration.

Our justice system can only be fair and equitable if it recognises and accounts for the cultural, social and economic issues that structure it. Appropriate supports and resources should be provided to overcome social, cultural and economic barriers to accessing justice, particularly those experienced by First Nations peoples.

Aims

The Greens (WA) want:

  • a criminal justice system with a focus on rehabilitation and reducing offending behaviour that is based on principles of restorative justice1 and the rights of victims and offenders
  • imprisonment to genuinely be the penalty of last resort
  • independent and effective handling of complaints about police, corrective services and the judiciary
  • an end to the over-representation of First Nations people in the justice system (see also The Greens (WA) First Nations Peoples policy)

Measures

The Greens (WA) will initiate and support legislation and actions that:

Criminal Justice

  • continually oppose capital and corporal punishment in the criminal justice system
  • maintain rigorous oversight, regulation, regular periodic competency assessments and limits on police use of firearms, prohibiting police officers from carrying firearms during general duties
  • uphold judicial discretion in sentencing, and repeal mandatory sentencing2 legislation
  • establish a Western Australian Sentencing Advisory Council and a Judicial Commission
  • introduce a properly funded Public Defender Program, run through the state’s Legal Aid office
  • implement alternatives to imprisonment, where appropriate, including restorative justice1, justice reinvestment3 and diversionary programs
  • implement the recommendations made by the Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services
  • support voluntary early intervention programs to prevent and address offending behaviour especially in children and young people
  • reflect the principles of justice reinvestment3
  • end the indefinite detention of accused deemed to be 'mentally impaired', with prison no longer a legal place of detention for mentally impaired accused
  • ensure sufficient support programs and appropriate legal counselling for accused deemed to be mentally impaired, provided through both the trial process and the length of the accused's detention
  • ensure determinations about the release of mentally impaired accused from custody, and the conditions to be attached to such release (if any), are made by the judiciary and with a right of appeal to the Supreme Court
  • ensure that sufficient resources are provided so that mandatory courses for inmates are available in a timely way and parole dates are not postponed
  • ensure that prison becomes an opportunity to engage in rehabilitation, and an opportunity to address the causes of offending
  • ensure that the human rights of prisoners are upheld in accordance with international treaties and agreements on torture and detention
  • raise the age of criminal responsibility from ten years to at least fourteen and provide targeted intervention and support to prevent both the institutionalisation and criminalisation of young people (see also The Greens (WA) Children policy)
  • Amend legislation which can be used for the indefinite extension of completed prison sentences, or the imposition of harsh post-sentence restrictions, where this legislation has been or risks being used in a discriminatory fashion or to prevent any possible rehabilitation.

Civil Justice

  • mandate state funding for Consumer Protection and similar statutory bodies to provide free legal advice lines and services to persons and small businesses facing civil legal issues
  • mandate that court documents and registries, including online registries, direct self-represented civil litigants to use those free legal advice lines and services before proceedings are commenced
  • provide funding and support for each Magistrates Court to host a dedicated advocate program for applicants and respondents in restraining orders matters

Legislative, Administrative & Resourcing

  • Require the State Security Investigations Group to comply with Freedom of Information requests
  • ensure government funding contracts with non-government prevention, intervention and diversion program service providers respect the independence and advocacy roles of the community sector
  • ensure that those anti-corruption bodies that have been entrusted with extra powers are a subject of stringent oversight and accountability by parliament (See also The Greens (WA) Open & Honest Democracy policy)
  • establish best practice processes and independent authorities for complaints about police, corrective services and the judiciary
  • encourage best practice police training and education to help officers respond effectively, including to domestic and family violence and situations involving youth, cultural and ethnic issues, and mental health issues (see also The Greens (WA) Family & Domestic Violence policy and The Greens (WA) Mental Health policy)
  • introduce legislative protection of human rights at state level through enacting a charter of rights
  • implement the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody4 (see also The Greens (WA) First Nations Peoples policy)
  • oppose the privatisation of prisons and prisoner transport
  • Ensure the principle that fundamental human rights, such as the right to silence, procedural fairness, innocence until proven guilty, and open courts, remain entrenched in legislation in perpetuity
  • increase funding to an adequate level for both civil and criminal jurisdictions, and increase funding to Legal Aid and community legal centres to ensure adequate access to justice for all Western Australians, especially for Elder Rights, Restraining Orders, Property in Family Law matters, Tenancy Rights and Small Business support 
  • consolidate administration of community legal centres through Legal Aid WA and increase funding and support, and ensure community legal centres are managed by senior legal practitioners or legal practice managers where possible

(See also the Australian Greens Justice policy)

Glossary

  1. Restorative justice is a process that helps to heal victims of crime and enables offenders to accept responsibility and provide restitution and reparation, and has been demonstrated to reduce reoffending and imprisonment rates.
  2. Mandatory sentencing -  a requirement that magistrates and judges impose certain sentences, in some cases imprisonment, for certain offences regardless of any mitigating circumstances.
  3. Justice reinvestment - an alternative approach to our penal system, one that seeks effective responses to the causes of crime while simultaneously improving community safety and community well-being. Funds are used to develop community-based programs that aim to reduce offending and recidivism, rather than investing in prisons.
  4. Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody - Report

Justice policy ratified by The Greens (WA) in 2024