The State of Western Australia v Quartermaine [No 4]

The Supreme Court of Western Australia was presented with an application by the State to detain the respondent, Lawrence Henry Quartermaine, pending the determination of contravention proceedings. The State applied for interim detention under section 56 of the High Risk Serious Offenders Act 2020 (WA). The court was required to decide whether exceptional circumstances existed for the respondent's release and whether he would substantially comply with the standard conditions of the supervision order. The court considered the evidence provided, including the respondent's criminal history, the concerns of the Community Offender Monitoring Officer, and the opinion of Dr Wojnarowska, who expressed that the respondent remained at a high risk of serious offending and required appropriate accommodation.

The court found that there were no exceptional circumstances for the respondent's release and that the respondent would not substantially comply with the standard conditions of the supervision order if released. The court was concerned about the respondent's exposure to anti-social influences at his current residence, which had contributed to the breach offences and contraventions. The court also considered Dr Wojnarowska's opinion that the respondent required prosocial and appropriate accommodation, such as a psychiatric hostel-type accommodation with support.

Therefore, the court ordered that the respondent be detained in custody pending the determination of the contravention proceedings. The contravention proceedings hearing was scheduled for 28 April 2023. The court was satisfied that the respondent would be detained in custody until that date.