State Opposition will take mandatory sentences for violent offenders to next Victorian election

The State Opposition has unveiled a bold ‘get tough on criminals’ agenda.

It will take sweeping new changes to sentencing laws to the next election.

Under the plan, there would be mandatory sentencing and mandatory jail time for repeatedly violent offenders.

New minimum sentences would apply to 11 specific crimes, including aggravated burglary, rape and murder.

Those convicted of a previous violent offence would face at least 20 years behind bars for murder, 10 years for a home invasion or aggravated robbery, and 15 years for rape.

‘I think Victorians have had enough, I’ve had enough and here is a way forward that is not a ‘more of the same’ approach,’ Matthew Guy told Neil Mitchell on Tuesday.

‘It’s radically different, but I think the state needs it.’

Click PLAY below to hear Matthew Guy on 3AW Mornings

But the policy has been slammed by a leading Melbourne barrister.

Greg Barnes from the Australian Lawyers Alliance said the policy had failed in the United States and would fail here.

‘All the evidence tells us it doesn’t work and is horrendously expensive,’ he said.

‘It’s just extraordinary that Matthew Guy would head down a path that’s been an abject failure and is condemned by conservatives in the United States.’

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