New carjacking laws that could carry a maximum prison sentence of 25 years might make crime data more precise but will do nothing to deter actual criminals, critics say.
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The state government intends to introduce the new charges of carjacking and aggravated carjacking, which would carry maximum penalties of 15 and 25 years, by the end of the year, it has been confirmed.
The Andrews government is responding to a dramatic increase in the incidence of violent carjackings, many of which have targeted high-end cars.
Carjacking and aggravated carjacking offences attract maximum penalties of 10 and 20 years in NSW.
Police Association Assistant Secretary Bruce McKenzie welcomed the new laws, but he said they would not have an impact if the courts did not impose adequate penalties.
"Unless the courts actually impose the sentences that the government have allowed for in legislation then this will largely be a wasted effort on the part of the government," Mr McKenzie said.
A proportion of offenders are also youths and first-time offenders.
Last week, a 16-year-old was charged over an armed car-jacking in Malvern East, the first of two similar incidents in the area within 24 hours.
"A young person intent on committing a carjacking is hardly likely to be looking at the severity of the penalty," Mr McKenzie said.
He said more police resources were needed to conduct patrols that would act as a deterrence.
"The proactive side of things has crashed and our members are simply responding to tasks – calls to assistance from the public – there's not time and there's inefficient resources to focus on the prevention of the crime."
National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council executive director Ray Carroll said accurate data would be the only real benefit of introducing a stand-alone offence.
"It's what happens to them [at court] after they're arrested," Mr Carroll told Fairfax Media last week.
"You see cases, particularly in the Children's Court, where they're already on five sets of bail and they're giving it to them again."
Currently, the offence of carjacking does not exist in Victoria and incidents are being tracked by pairing offences of car theft with robbery and assault.
Recent Crime Statistics Agency figures showed the number of crimes that fit this matrix has almost doubled in the past five years and increased by 80 per cent in the past year.
