4. MARTIN GALLAGHER (Labour—Hamilton West) Link to this
to the Minister of Corrections
What reports has he received on the length of sentences for serious offences since the passing of the Sentencing Act 2002 and the Parole Act 2002?
Hon PHIL GOFF (Minister of Corrections) Link to this
I have received various reports from the Department of Corrections and the Ministry of Justice that show that the Sentencing Act 2002 and the Parole Act 2002 have played a significant role in keeping serious and high-risk offenders in prison for much longer. Under the Sentencing Act, aggravated murder attracts a sentence of life with a minimum non-parole period now of 17 years, up from 10 years under National. The average non-parole period imposed for life sentences is today 25 percent higher than it was a decade ago. The reports also show that the proportion of sentences served is much longer. Those convicted of sexual violation, for example, are serving sentences that are 40 percent longer than sentences served before the new Acts; the average sentence served for burglaries has increased from 44 percent of the sentence to 70 percent; and for serious assaults it has increased from 54 percent of the sentence to 70 percent. That gives the lie to National claims that the law is anything other than much tougher on serious offenders than it was before.
No; in fact, the evidence is absolutely to the contrary. Following the Parole Act 2002, the percentage of applications declined by the Parole Board has gone up from just over 50 percent to over 70 percent. The bail law was toughened in 2000 to reverse the onus of proof regarding hard-core offenders, so that they had to persuade the court that they were safe to be bailed, rather than the other way round. That was opposed by Tony Ryall when he was the Minister of Justice in 1999. We put it into the legislation. The growth in prison remand numbers at significantly higher levels than the growth in the number of sentenced prisoners is proof of the fact that today it is much harder to get bail.
Gerry BrownleeHas the Minister quoted today from the same Ministry of Justice report that was released in April that shows that the average length of prison sentences imposed for all violent offences, including murder, has dropped by 11.9 percent since 2002; and is he also quoting from a report of the Department of Corrections that was released this month that states there has been “significant growth in the number of offenders starting short-term prison sentences”?
The second part of the question answers the first part of the question. There are far more shorter term sentences for violence because violence does result in offenders going to jail. The average length of sentences goes down because lesser incidents of violence are included. But the member has got something to explain: if the law is not much tougher, how come prison numbers are 70 percent higher than they were when that member was in Government?
Te Ururoa Flavell Link to this
Tēna nō tātou. What international research evidence is there that harsher sentences are effective in reducing reoffending and preventing crime?
They are not necessarily effective on their own. But we do know that the category of people who are recidivist offenders are not liable to be changed by rehabilitation, and often the only way that we can deal with them is to keep them locked up, provided that they constitute a risk to the community. And under the new legislation, risk to the community has to be the paramount consideration in decisions of the justice system. But I agree with the member in so far as he is saying that to bring crime rates down in society, being tougher is not enough; we have to do more to deal with the causes of crime, which include dysfunctional families and drug and alcohol abuse. We have to ensure that children are brought up without abuse, without violence, and with good parenting.
Further to the Minister’s previous answers, have the tougher penalties for serious offenders been reflected in growth in the prison population in New Zealand?
They most certainly have. That is why four prisons have been opened, that is why 2,300 additional prison beds have been created, and that is why the prison population has gone up by 71 percent since the mid-1990s. I emphasise that those steps were taken to deal with the rising level of crime under National. If we look at the police statistics, we see that the total number of recorded police offences was lower last year than it was a decade ago.