Australian Criminal Law System Essay

Words: 588
Pages: 3

The Australian Criminal Law system is a system of laws and rulings that protects both people and property by regulating how people behave. A good law system must be fair, understandable, stable and consistent. The government makes sure their laws are followed by determining which events are criminal, and punishing all who act unlawfully. Criminals may be punished through fines, imprisonment, or community service.
Although Criminal Law is made to be as fair as possible, flaws are still present in the system. For example, many are disadvantaged if they need to get involved in the system.
First of all people with disabilities can be disadvantaged by the law. They are easily caught by the law or left ‘holding the bag’, and their harmless intentions may
…show more content…
if they come from war-torn countries)

The elderly can also be disadvantaged, as they are vulnerable to all sorts of abuse, such as financial abuse, that forces them to sign over properly, alter their wills and give great deals of money to their carers. Their loss of confidence and independence is also a weakness, as they are now less likely to make complaints, raise issues or look for redress.

People living in institutions are particularly disadvantaged. This group of people are split into three categories: prisoners, immigration detainees and people in institutional care. The prisoners are disadvantaged in accessing legal advice, assistance and representation. They need to go through special prisoner complaint procedures, making it difficult for them to participate in the Criminal Law system. Immigration detainees have similar problems to the prisoners, except they need to face complex immigration issues, and make decisions in strict time limits. People in institutional care too face issues similar to those of prisoners. If the person in institutional care is disabled, it can result in abuse, and difficultly communicating or accessing advocacy. Their disadvantages don’t cease upon