Bail changes

The Herald reports:

Serious violent, sexual or drugs offenders now face greater hurdles to getting bail after sweeping changes to bail laws were backed by Parliament.

The Bail Amendment Bill passed into law this morning by 102 votes to 19. It was opposed by the Greens, the Maori Party, Mana and Brendan Horan.

The bill would require that a person on a murder charge or repeat violence, drugs or sex charges would have to persuade a judge that the community would be safe if they were released.

A very welcome step. Far too many offences are caused by people on bail. This generally won’t impact alleged first time offenders, but will affect those with a history of offending.