Case Explained:This article breaks down the legal background, charges, and implications of Case Explained: Bail crackdown credited with crime drop as NT priso… – Legal Perspective
A year after the introduction of its controversial bail laws, the Northern Territory Government says crime has dropped “significantly” across the Territory, despite ongoing criticism from legal, Indigenous and human rights organisations that the reforms have dramatically expanded the prison population.
Known as Declan’s Law, the legislation is named after 20-year-old Declan Laverty, who was fatally stabbed in 2023 by then-19-year-old Keith Kerinauia, who was on bail at the time, following an altercation at the bottle shop where Mr Laverty was working. The law was among the first pieces of legislation introduced by the Country Liberal Party (CLP) after its election win in 2024.
It imposes a presumption against bail — for both adults and children — for a range of violent offences, as well as some non-violent crimes, including stealing and drug possession.
In the 12 months since its introduction, more than 5,800 people have been refused bail by police or the courts, according to a government statement issued on Monday — a 22 per cent increase. The government did not provide a breakdown of how many of those individuals were ultimately convicted.
Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro, who also holds the Police portfolio, used the data to criticise the former Labor government, arguing “repeat offenders’ rights were put above community safety” under its leadership and that “Declan’s death should never have happened”.
“Territorians wanted the CLP to make the Territory a safer place and Declan’s Law is helping deliver that,” she said. “From day one, we were determined that Declan’s death would not be in vain.”
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Ongoing criticism from legal and human rights groups
The laws have faced sustained criticism since their introduction, with legal, Indigenous and human rights organisations arguing they are punitive and contradict expert advice, including recommendations from the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and the Northern Territory’s commitments under the Closing the Gap agreement.
The CLP government previously said community safety trumps the agreement in terms of policy priority.
In the first six months of the reforms, more than 400 children and young people were taken into custody in police watch houses — facilities described by the Territory’s acting ombudsman last year as having conditions to which no person should be subjected.
Other concerns raised include reports of 20 women being held in a single cell in Alice Springs and forced to drink from a toilet, as well as an 11-year-old being detained in an adult facility in Palmerston.
Corrections data shows the average prison population has increased by 15 per cent over the past year. With the age of criminal responsibility lowered to 10 and bail laws tightened, more than 1 per cent of Territorians are now imprisoned on any given day.
Aboriginal people make up nearly 90 per cent of detainees across the Northern Territory.
Last month, the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) launched a High Court challenge to the Territory’s bail laws, arguing they are unlawful and undermine fundamental principles of the criminal justice system.
“These new laws mean more and more Aboriginal people in the NT are being locked up when they haven’t been convicted of any crime,” NAAJA Chairperson Thesesa Roe said.
“NAAJA sees many people who have been sent to prison because of these laws who have later had their charges withdrawn, essentially serving time for crimes they have not committed.”
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Affront to natural justice
In May, the Bail and Youth Justice Legislation Amendment Act 2025 (NT) expanded Declan’s Law following the fatal stabbing of grocer Linford Feick.
The amendments introduced an additional requirement that judges must have a “high degree of confidence” a person granted bail will not commit a serious offence or pose a risk to community safety. This test applies after a court has already determined, under existing considerations, that bail should be granted.
NAAJA has argued the amendments impose an “impossibly high threshold” for bail and unlawfully punish people without trial.
“This erodes a foundational principle of our criminal justice system, designed to protect us all: that judges can only be given power to lock someone up as a punishment for a crime, or in exceptional cases with appropriate safeguards and limitations,” a spokesperson said at the time.
On Monday, Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby said Declan’s Law had fundamentally changed the way bail is interpreted in the Territory.
“We are proud to have delivered an 8.6 per cent drop in the number of victims between January and October 2025, compared to the same period the year before,” she said, arguing this represented more than 1,800 fewer victims of crime.
National Indigenous Times contacted the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency for comment.