15 December 2010
Media Statement

Barker asks committee to hold recidivism inquiry

Labour’s Courts spokesperson Rick Barker has written to Law and Order select committee chair Sandra Goudie asking for an inquiry into recidivism, which he says is a persistent and intractable problem.

“Recidivism has significant consequences for the victims of crime, and significant financial costs for the country,” Rick Barker said. “The problem shows no sign of abating. In fact, with New Zealand’s increasing rate of imprisonment, the problem looks set to get worse.”

Rick Barker said he wants the inquiry to focus on the causes of recidivism and what can be done to reduce the current high rate.

“There are no signs of fresh ideas or initiatives. It is time to think again on how we deal with the reintegration of prisoners into the community, as any improvements will bring big benefits, the most important being the impact on individuals.

“Less crime will mean fewer victims,” Rick Barker said. “Taxpayers will also benefit as it costs about $91,000 to keep a prisoner each year. There will also be cost savings to Police and the courts.

“The Parliamentary Library has calculated for me that savings could be about $44 million per annum. If we can reduce the rate of recidivism so that just one in five prisoners were back into prison within 12 months, this would reduce the prison population by 420 a year based on 6000 prisoners being released each year. Such a reduction could see three of our smaller prisons closed if everything else stood still, or mean deferring building another prison.

“The Corrections Department spends $57.2 million per annum on reintegration,” Rick Barker said. “While this is a large sum, it represents just 6.1 percent of the total spend in the Corrections Budget.

“Our rate of recidivism is 57 percent after two years, an appalling figure, particularly when compared to countries like Ireland which reports a comparable two year recidivism rate of just 39 percent. New Zealand prides itself on its ability to be among the best in the worst, but in terms of imprisonment and recidivism we are among those with the worst statistics.

“This can’t be simply accepted as inevitable, but we can’t just try to muddle through. We need fresh ideas and new initiatives or the statistics will get worse,” Rick Barker said.

ENDS

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