Defendants facing court in the ACT could be given lighter sentences because of unclear and repetitive reports provided by the AFP, legal experts warn.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Interstate criminal records are causing problems for magistrates in cases of bail applications and on sentencing, as they are often in a form "extremely difficult to understand" for those who do not practice in the interstate jurisdiction, ACT Law Courts principal registrar and CEO Philip Kellow said.
He said the courts had commented on several occasions about the difficulties since changes were made about four years ago to the way the Australian Federal Police provided records.
"Apart from the time taken to understand the true criminal history, there is also a risk that such records will be misinterpreted. Such misinterpretation has the potential to influence both bail and sentence decisions," Mr Kellow said.
Magistrate Lisbeth Campbell recently raised the issue in court, saying the records were frustrating and time consuming.
Ms Campbell, who has been an ACT magistrate for 18 years, said she and other colleagues had spoken about the issue.
"Her Honour is of the view that it takes unnecessary effort and time in trying to get a clear chronological picture of a defendant's offending from the way records are now presented," a spokeswoman said.
"Mrs Campbell's frustration is that the AFP no longer provides the courts with chronological and merged criminal records which include offences from all over the country.
"The old ones were reliable, easy to read and clear. The documents we get now are often confusing and in some cases repetitive. They are not always easy to follow."
Legal Aid ACT deputy CEO Louise Taylor said anecdotally she knew there was an issue with the police information being provided to courts.
"It is clear, at times, there is a question mark over some of that information," Ms Taylor said.
"People charged with criminal offences are entitled to have accurate material put before the court if the prosecution seeks to rely on that to either constrain their liberty or sentence them for that offence. We have had experiences where it has been difficult to determine whether the information is accurate or not."
Ms Taylor said in this day and age, it was not unreasonable to expect reliable and clear information.
The Australian Federal Police criminal records team, which provides criminal history information to courts, changed the way records were provided to the court to "adhere to arrangements on data creation" in 2012.
"At that time, consultation occurred with relevant stakeholders," an AFP spokesman said. "Subsequently, there has been minimal negative feedback from stakeholders on the change."
An AFP spokesman said the ACT Policing Judicial operations team maintained a "strong working relationship" with the registrar and matters of concern raised were considered and addressed.
