The Department of Home Affairs is seeking feedback to support its work to shape the future of criminal justice, sentencing and offender management in the Isle of Man.
A public consultation in principle has been launched today (Monday 11 July 2016) to gather views on proposals aimed at modernising processes, broadening sentencing options and reducing reoffending.
The Department is leading a major programme of reform and many improvements have been made at operational level since Tynwald approved the Criminal Justice Strategy in December 2012.
In order to achieve further progress on the Strategy’s four key priorities of prevention, appropriate response, rehabilitation and new ways of working, the Department is now considering a number of legislative changes.
The consultation provides an opportunity for the judiciary and the general public to comment on proposals currently in the process of being drafted. There are five main areas for consideration –
- Early intervention: To make greater use of cautions and fixed penalty notices to help divert people from criminal behaviour and reduce the number of low level offences appearing before the courts.
- Youth Justice: To update Isle of Man legislation so that 17-year-olds who appear in court are treated as juveniles, rather than as adults. The Department is also seeking to establish the successful Youth Justice Team on a statutory footing and place a ‘duty to cooperate’ on the relevant agencies to ensure a holistic approach to addressing offending behaviour is supported by law.
- Offender management: To reflect current priorities and widen the scope of community rehabilitation services. The provisions would allow probation officers to become more involved in reparation, mediation and restorative justice and have input into strategies to divert offenders from court or prison.
- Sentencing: To expand the sentencing powers and options available to the courts. Additional proposals focus on the publication of sentencing guidelines, to provide victims and defendants with clear information about the possible outcomes for specific offences, and the introduction of a requirement to provide written confirmation of court orders and matters such as bail conditions.
- Means of giving evidence: To widen the scope in which evidence can be heard and cross-examined in alternative ways, such as the increased use of video recordings. This is seen as a significant change for the treatment of vulnerable people within the courts.
In addition, the Department would also welcome people’s views on the proportion of a prison sentence an offender should serve before being considered eligible for parole.
Home Affairs Minister Juan Watterson MHK said:
‘Recorded crime in the Isle of Man is at its lowest level for more than 45 years, which is a tremendous achievement and contributes greatly to our quality of life. The flagship Criminal Justice Strategy has also led to important improvements over the past three years, but we must look to the future and drive forward further reform to make the system better, faster, simpler and more cost efficient. We need to put in place legislation to help agencies deal with problems earlier, promote rehabilitation and break the cycle of reoffending behaviour.’
He added:
‘There is a desire to give the courts a wider menu of sentencing options that can be tailored to the individual offender and achieve far reaching benefits for the community. We are looking at new ways of working to deliver a more collaborative approach and improve outcomes for all those affected by and working within the criminal justice system. I would encourage people to look at what is being proposed and provide their views via the consultation process. Feedback will help to shape the proposals and the drafting of any future Bill by the next Government.’
The deadline for responses is Monday 19 September 2016 and people can email dhaconsultation@gov.im or write to Tom Bateman, Legislation and Policy Manager, Chief Executive’s Office, Department of Home Affairs Headquarters, Tromode Road, Douglas, IM2 5PA.
