Safer communities, more effective punishments: aim of new justice initiatives
Significant new justice measures unveiled by the Prime Minister will help build safer communities and provide for more
effective ways that offenders can serve their debt to society, Justice Minister Mark Burton said today.
"This Government's goal is to continue addressing crime with policy that reduces its incidence, helps victims and
targets hardcore and dangerous criminals and their activity."
The package announced by the Prime Minister today contains four key elements:
· Measures to help further reduce the rate of crime through targeted interventions to prevent people, especially
the young, coming into the criminal justice system;
· Measures to reduce the rate of re-offending by improving employment, rehabilitation and reintegration programmes
for prisoners, to give them a chance to construct useful lives beyond the prison gate once their sentences are
completed;
· A revamp of the sentencing system so that there is more transparent, consistent so that there is more
transparent, consistent and standardised approach, which will include the setting up of a Sentencing Council and parole
reform;
· Smarter use of prisons by reforming the home detention and community-based sentencing regime, so that prisons
are for serious offenders and a more effective range of punishments exist for other offenders.
"Improvements made since 1999 to justice legislation have tightened up penalties facing dangerous criminals. The
Sentencing Act 2002 is delivering longer sentences across the board, as well as the longest sentences ever for the most
serious crimes. The impact of these changes is the lowest crime rate since the early 1980s."
"The measures announced today will build on the positive impacts of these changes to further reduce the crime rate, but
will also address New Zealand's growing prison population.
"New Zealand's prison population has increased over the last decade and is forecast to increase further over the next
five years. By 30 June this year the number of inmates had climbed to 7,700 compared to 4,530 a decade ago – an increase
of 41.2 per cent.
"We now have one of the highest per capita imprisonment rates in the western world though this growth does not reflect
an increase in crime and has significant impacts on New Zealand families and communities."
Some of the key elements of the package are as follows:
· Crime prevention – for example: early intervention; working to reduce the flow of youth offenders into the
criminal justice system; and inter-agency group to tackle persistent and prolific offenders; and situational crime
prevention (i.e. reducing opportunities to crime);
· Minor changes to the Bail Act to improve consistency in judicial decision-making;
· Expanding the availability of restorative justice processes;
· A proposed new sentencing structure and hierarchy, including new tier of community-based sentences;
· Further consideration to be given to aspects of community work, and issues relating to disqualification from
driving penalties;
· Establishing home detention as a sentence in its own right;
· Establishing a Sentencing Council, to produce sentencing and parole guidelines, and to consider reform of parole
guidelines to better align the time served in prison with the court imposed sentence;
· Expanding rehabilitative and re-integrative services, including increased funding for community-based treatment
programmes;
· Looking carefully at issues around Maori and Pacific peoples' involvement in the criminal justice system.
"New Zealanders are right to be sickened when they hear of horrendous and violent crimes committed in our communities
and the Police must be acknowledged for their response to these incidents."
"Let me be clear for serious repeat offenders and hardened criminals, from whom the public must be protected, there is
no other option than imprisonment. Though for some others, the use of non-custodial sanctions may be a more effective
way to punish offenders and ultimately result in safer communities across the country."
"We continue to look for ways to meet the needs of victims of crime. The use of restorative justice has shown success in
meeting the needs of many victims of crime. Labour is the only party to have ever passed legislation enshrining victims'
rights - in 1987 and again 2002. This focus will continue as part of this package," Mark Burton said.
ENDS