DANGEROUS SEXUAL
OFFENDERS ACT —OFFENDER DECLARATIONS — DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC
PROSECUTIONS
1180. Hon MICHAEL MISCHIN to the Leader of the House
representing the Attorney General:
I have almost forgotten how to do
this!
(1) For each year
since the coming into operation of the Dangerous Sexual Offenders Act 2006 to
date, how many applications has the Director of Public Prosecutions made to
have an offender declared a dangerous sexual offender?
(2) Of those applications, how many
have been successful, either at first instance or on appeal?
(3) Of those declared dangerous
sexual offenders, how many —
(a) were detained in custody; and
(b) were released on conditions?
(4) Of those detained in custody,
how many were subsequently released on conditions?
(5) How many offenders released on conditions were
later the subject of proceedings for breaching conditions?
(6) Of those found to have breached
conditions, how many were returned to custody —
(a) pending their case being dealt
with by the court; or
(b) at the conclusion of those
proceedings?
The PRESIDENT: The member
certainly has not forgotten how to write a long question.
Hon SUE ELLERY replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1)–(6) The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
has advised that the questions asked require an assessment of a vast
amount of information from its records, spanning back 14 years from the
commencement of the now-repealed Dangerous Sex Offenders Act 2006. Some of
these records are not computerised. To extract this information would divert
staff away from the ODPP's core business of prosecuting serious
offences committed against state criminal law. It is not a reasonable or
appropriate use of resources. If the member has a specific question about a particular
dangerous sexual offender, or seeks statistical information for a particular
year, the Attorney General will consider it.
In addition, the Corrective Services
branch of the Department of Justice deals with breaches of conditions, and the Western
Australia Police Force prosecutes them. Although the ODPP is informed of them,
it does not keep statistics. In some cases, the ODPP will have brought
contravention proceedings, but it does not keep statistics on them.