Dunne to vote against three strikes bill

UnitedFuture leader Peter Dunne will oppose the Sentencing and Parole Reform Bill during its second reading in Parliament today.

“This bill, in my opinion, is flawed legislation,” said Mr Dunne, “it will neither reduce the incidents of violent crime, assist in addressing the high rate of recidivism among offenders, nor help curb our bulging prison population.”

“There would be little disagreement anywhere in the community that serious violent offenders should be put away for long periods of time, however such a simplistic approach as three strikes is not the answer.”

“The problem is that even though maximum sentences for violent offences have been substantially increased, most offenders do not receive anything like a maximum sentence, and even then are eligible for parole long before their actual sentence is completed.”

“Evidence rules also often prevent all the relevant facts being put before a jury, thus resulting in some cases of convictions carrying lesser sentences than might otherwise have been the case.”

“Moreover, I believe that there is also a significant disconnection between the crime and an offender’s conviction due to the length of time it takes a case to progress through the courts.”

“All these things add up to a public that sees criminal justice in New Zealand as riddled with loopholes and somewhat of a soft touch.”

“What is therefore needed is a comprehensive review of the way in which courts, juries and judges are allowed to deal with cases of violent crime, not the watered-down version of an expensive American-style corrections policy which has had at best questionable results in other jurisdictions.”

“Three strikes is based on the notion that the justice system cannot adequately deal with serious violent offenders, which is why we need to address the problems within the justice system rather than just fob the problem off onto Corrections,” said Mr Dunne.

ENDS

© Scoop Media