When assessing whether a risk of reoffending is 'unacceptable' under s 4E of the Bail Act 1977 (Vic), the assessment must be relative to all the circumstances, including the exceptional circumstances that justified bail. Where the accused is a child with severe intellectual disability and Aboriginal heritage, and a custodial sentence is unlikely, those factors may be so compelling as to render acceptable a risk that would otherwise be unacceptable. Continued pre-trial detention of a child unlikely to receive a custodial sentence is akin to preventive detention, which is alien to fundamental principles of justice.
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