Justice Minister Kiri Allan has no answers on why there has been a 30 per cent increase in violent crime since the Labour Government took office, National’s Justice spokesperson Paul Goldsmith says.

“But it seems it never occurred to the Minister to ask whether the Government’s ‘clear strategy’ to reduce the prison population by over 20 per cent has had anything to do with it.

“Amongst the waffle she offered in a Q+A interview this morning on the causes of the increase in violent crime, such as ‘a range of factors’, the Minister conceded she had no evidence before her on what impact the over 20 per cent decrease in the prison population has had on the increase in violent crime.

“It’s breath-taking that a Minister of Justice wouldn’t spend every waking moment trying to work out why there has been a dramatic increase in violent crime – and have some clear answers.

“But it’s worse that a government would pursue a policy of emptying out prisons, irrespective of what’s going on in our streets and in our communities, without thinking to ask what impact that was having.

“This Minister is not up to the job.

“This morning she stated: ‘I never said the justice system was just’. Six years into a government, that says it all.

“A National Government will restore law and order in New Zealand.”

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