Calls for criminals who post crimes on social media to have harsher penalties

On September 9, the Central Western Daily reported on an Instagram page which had been sharing videos of criminals leading police on high-speed chases and breaking into their homes. They even went as far as to film people while they slept.

More than 40 videos were posted to the page between May and August. Following the publication of the story, the Instagram page was made private.

Now, Member for Orange and former police officer Phil Donato has asked for laws to be changed which would allow for harsher sentences, should the parties be found guilty in court.

Speaking at parliament on September 20, Mr Donato addressed his question to the NSW Attorney General Michael Daley.

"Given the recent rising trend of offenders showcasing and publicly posting their crimes on social media platforms like TikTok and Snapchat, will the Attorney General contemplate amending section 21A of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 to account for this as an aggravating factor during sentencing of these criminals," he said.

Section 21A refers to aggravating and mitigating circumstances when a judge is determining sentencing.

In reply, Mr Daley acknowledged he had been shown videos of this type of criminal behaviour and described it as "abhorrent".

"Sadly, there are offenders who think that they can glorify their crimes, and they should be subject to the appropriate punishment," he said.

Within Mr Daley's first fortnight of becoming Attorney General, he visited Kempsey where this issue was one of the topics discussed.

"The bottom line is, where people are broadcasting their crimes on social media for notoriety or to big-note themselves, or for whatever reason, the videos should come down," he added.

"It is obviously not just a NSW issue, and I assure the member for Orange and the House that I will be speaking to attorneys-general from other states and territories to see what work is being done in those jurisdictions to see if we can also get a national approach."

Mr Daley added he would speak to Attorney General of Australia Mark Dreyfus about this national approach.

On the suggestion to amend section 21A of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999, he noted judicial officers "generally" had a wide sentencing discretion.

"The courts can already take matters outside of section 21A into account, where relevant and appropriate," he said.

"A court can already, in some circumstances, take into account what is referred to as post-offence conduct when assessing the objective seriousness of a crime.

"A sentencing judge could, where appropriate, take into account not only the conduct that actually constitutes the crime but also any surrounding circumstances that are directly related to that crime that can properly be regarded as circumstances of aggravation or mitigation."

In direct response to Mr Donato's question, Mr Daley said he would seek advice from his department about the issue and come back to the Member for Orange directly with the outcomes of those discussions.

This exchange occurred the day after police addressed Orange City Council on the topic of youth crime.

At the meeting, NSW Central West Police District Inspector David Maher said they would not discuss specific crimes committed during the open forum and only to councillors privately afterwards.

Mr Maher dubbed the car thefts and break-and-enters on residents who aren't locking their doors as "opportunistic crime".

"In recent time, we have investigated a large number of incidents and are finding the majority show no form of forced entry," Inspector Maher said.

"It is important to reinforce members of the community lock both their homes and vehicles ... and remove valuables.

"Remember to keep yourself safe [by] ensuring that your premises or car is locked, even for a short time. Importantly, we need residents to report any suspicious activity to local police."

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