o sung wu,
Perhaps you will remember "THE KEY" The Habitual Criminal Act.
An extra 5 to 7 years on top of your sentence for the originating crime with no remission.
That was an effective means of controlling the career criminals.
Personally I Believe that a sentence should be just that and no regard whatsoever for so
called extenuating circumstances. The crime is committed with deliberate intent and malice
aforethought and the sentence should reflect just that and nothing else.
At the conclusion of the sentence, with real hard labor, the prisoner should be released
on a parallel parole with a guaranteed return to prison for a repeat of the original sentence
if further criminal behavior is recorded.
It would be sort of "Snakes and Ladders" thing.
Of course there is always the US styled "Three time Losers" approach to repeat offenders.
If there is no room in prison then build more preferably out in the scrub where hard labor
would mean just that.

Hi there CHRISGAFF1000...

I do remember 'the key' quite well in fact. The crim would be whinging and whining in the Court cells, prior to his imminent appearance before a certain presiding Jurist, often for the same or similar offence. Whereupon he was on his final warning from his last conviction; and should he be convicted again on this occasion, he would assuredly cop 'the key', pursuant to the Habitual Criminal Act.

From memory, a declared habitual criminal, received very restrictive remission, therefore should his original lagging be 10 years, meant he'd do almost the entire 10 years in the 'go slow'? Moreover they served their entire sentence in a maximum security boob, which wouldn't be too appealing to them I wouldn't have thought? It's was my understanding, that most Habitual Criminals were placed in either Maitland, Parramatta, or Bathurst Gaols, back in the sixties thru to the mid eighties, would you know Chris?

I really can't see their logic, in repealing such a useful piece of legislation. Similarly the Commissioner's decision, to disbanded the highly practical Consorting Squad? Both initiatives kept gently stirring-up the crooks, and not allowing them the opportunity of keeping company with each other or socializing and openly fraternizing with one another, thus enabling them to consolidate and get up to more mischief. Not unlike the relatively new Bikie's legislation, that's currently in force in the State of Queensland.

Why our politicians can't simply leave alone laws that've proven to be of benefit to the people of this State of NSW, I'll never know. For some inextricable reason they seek to fiddle around, and bugger-up really good laws, that have worked since time in memorial. It beats me it really does.