Law change will end secrecy over criminals' name changes

Simon Power said he believed it was easy for criminals to assume new identities. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The New South Wales government has been forced to move rapidly to close a loophole that has allowed serious criminals to hide behind legal name changes.

Privacy laws have prevented police from knowing the new identities of paedophiles, organised crime figures and alleged murderers, Police Union president Bob Pritchard said yesterday.

One paedophile legally changed his name and attempted to adopt a child, and a member of the Bandidos outlaw motorcycle gang evaded a murder investigation for several years after changing his identity by deed poll.

"To date, the problem has resulted in dozens of instances uncovered by police where criminals have legally changed their identities without any notification to police," Mr Pritchard said.

Under existing laws, criminals can change their name by deed poll, and the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages is not required to automatically notify the police of this.

The issue was raised in NZ in November by National's then-justice spokesman Simon Power, after it was revealed Liam Reid had tried to hide his past by changing his name.

Reid was found guilty of raping and murdering deaf Christchurch woman Emma Agnew in November 2007 and raping a 21-year-old girl in Dunedin nine days later.

Under his former name, Julian Edgecombe, he had been acquitted of abduction, sexual violation and attempted murder but charged with fraud and sentenced to three months.

While in prison, he assaulted a convicted paedophile and another inmate with a broom handle, and was sentenced to another 27 months in prison.

Edgecombe changed his name after his release from prison, a process which Mr Power felt at the time was too easy.

Mr Power, now the Justice Minister, said he believed criminals could easily assume another identity, and his ministry would closely at its processes to make sure it was not being abused by criminals.

Under existing laws criminals can change their name by deed poll. This requires payment of a $125 fee, presentation of a birth certificate, and completion of a statutory declaration which must be witnessed by a notary.

Mr Power was not prepared to comment on the matter when approached by the Herald last night.

Mr Pritchard said the loophole unnecessarily placed community and police safety at risk. He added that the use of privacy laws to block change was also seriously undermining police intelligence efforts and limited the accuracy of criminal histories.

"Criminal history records are an integral part of police work and the integrity of this intelligence is critical to community safety."

NSW Attorney-General John Hatzistergos said laws had been amended in 2007 to prevent a child sex offender changing his name without the approval of the police commissioner.

Further changes would now be introduced to ensure police had complete access to the present and former identities of people they were investigating, by ensuring they were automatically notified when criminals changed their name by deed poll.

The state's Premier, Nathan Rees, said federal and state attorneys-general had been considering the issue for some time and needed to deal with cross-border issues.

However, he said he wanted the problem resolved and "if NSW has to go it alone, we'll do it".

- ADDITIONAL REPORTING: Isaac Davison