Skye's Law

Skye's Law is an informal name for the Crimes Amendment (Police Pursuits) Act 2010[1] of New South Wales, Australia. It is named after the 19-month old toddler Skye Sassine, who was killed on 31 December 2009 when her family's car was hit by a driver suspected of armed robbery who was trying to evade police.[2] The driver in that case was convicted of her manslaughter,[3] but Skye's Law makes evading a police pursuit a specific offence in itself, with prison terms of up to three years, or up to five years for repeat offences. There was also criticism of the role of Police in pursuit. Deputy Coroner, Magistrate Paul MacMahon, was quoted as saying, "The evidence shows that Senior Constable [Troy] Skinner in firstly undertaking urgent duty and subsequently engaging in the pursuit on 31 December 2009, did so in utter disregard for the requirements imposed on him by the [safe driving policy]".[4]

Crimes Amendment (Police Pursuits) Act 2010
Parliament of New South Wales
Citation2010 No. 2
Enacted byParliament of New South Wales
Royal assent18 March 2010
Related legislation
Crimes Act 1900
Criminal Procedure Act 1986
Road Transport (General) Act 2005

The offence is committed if the driver is aware of the pursuit, fails to stop and then drives recklessly or dangerously. The law takes the form of a new section 51B inserted into the Crimes Act 1900 by the 2010 Act.

The law was first used within a few weeks of being passed.[5] Between May 2010 and March 2012, 445 people were convicted under Skye's Law, 180 of whom were imprisoned.[6]

In 2012, Western Australia also introduced a range of offences relating to police pursuit attracting sentences of imprisonment, in the Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2012.[7][8]

References
  1. "Crimes Act 1900 No 40" (PDF). Legislation.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  2. "Death chase cop 'thought he was on racetrack' Skye Sassino inquest told". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  3. "Ngati sentenced to 14 years over infant's death". YouTube. 21 July 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  4. Ford, Mazoe (15 May 2015). "Officer 'thought he was on a race track', but not to blame for toddler Skye's death". ABC News. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  5. "Girl 15 Charged Under Skye's Law". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  6. "2677 - SKYE'S LAW". Parliament.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  7. "Other Road Rules| Western Australian Road Rules and Penalties | Road Safety Commission - Road Safety Commission". Rsc.wa.gov.au. 12 December 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  8. "Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2012". Slp.wa.gov.au. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
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