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Criminal Justice
New Zealand has one of the largest prison populations per capita in the developed world. And half of all prisoners are Māori, but Māori are 15 per cent of the population. There is no room left in prisons, and the government is planning to build more.
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;" class="bgcolor">National
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Save thisIncrease penalties for manufacturing and distributing synthetic cannabis(...)Why
National believes drugs and the gangs who sell them are a scourge on society. It is committed to stopping gangs selling drugs, imprisoning those that do, and seizing the proceeds of their criminal activity.
Increasing the penalties for manufacturing and distributing synthetic cannabis should reduce the amount of synthetic cannabis in the community.
HowNational would increase penalties for manufacturing and distributing synthetic cannabis. The maximum penalty would be increased from two years imprisonment to eight years imprisonment.
Penalties for possession would not be changed.
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Save thisEstablish military based training camps for young people who commit serious offences(...)Why
National believes that the justice system works well for most young offenders but there’s about 150 young people who commit a large number of serious offences. National is committed to keeping New Zealanders safe by cracking down on the most serious young offenders.
Young serious offenders generally have poor life skills and need opportunities to reduce their chances of reoffending. Establishing military based training camps for young people who commit serious crimes should reduce offending by this group.
HowNational would establish military based training camps for young people who commit serious offences.
A new category of Young Serious Offenders would be created for people under 18 who have committed serious offences, have a high risk of re-offending and have offended after spending time in custody. Serious offences are those with a maximum sentence of 14 years jail or more.
Those over 14 designated as Young Serious Offenders would be sentenced by an adult court, rather than a Youth Court.
Judges would be able to suspend the sentence of Young Serious Offenders who reoffend, and send them to a camp at Waiouru, called a Junior Training Academy.
The camp would be run by Defence and the Ministries of Justice, Education and Social Development. It would involve literacy, numeracy and regular curriculum study, and alcohol and drug treatment would be available. Those who fail to complete the course could be sent to prison.
National would consider paying those who graduate from the course and who don’t reoffend for two years, stay in employment or training, and have no minor misdemeanours. The payment would repay living and or training costs incurred following the programmes.
National would also make changes to other rules for people designated as Young Serious Offenders. Maximum periods of detention in a Youth Justice Facility would be increased from six to 12 months, and Young Serious Offenders would not be entitled to early release from residential supervision for good behaviour.
Bail rules would be made more strict, with a zero tolerance approach replacing warnings for breaches. Young Serious Offenders would not be allowed to reside with a guardian unless that person had no convictions in the previous ten years. They would not be entitled to a Family Group Conference as a resolution for offending.
Young people could be designated as a Young Serious Offender by the Police Commissioner. Judges would be able to make the designation even if a person did not fit the criteria. Persons designated as Young Serious Offenders would have a right of appeal to the District Court on the basis that they were wrongly or unfairly classified.
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Save thisAllow police to fine parents of children who are out alone late at night(...)Why
National believes that many young people who offend don’t have good role models or are given the freedom to commit crimes by their parents. Fines for parents whose child are out alone late at night should require them to take greater responsibility for their children.
HowNational would allow the police to issue an instant $200 fine to parents of children under the age of 14 who are out on the streets without supervision between midnight and 5am.
National would also change the law to allow breaches of a child’s court order that are the fault of the parent to be recorded on the parent’s record.
National would also increase the powers of courts to order parents to attend training, ensure their child attends school, or arrange for the child to be supervised overnight.
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Save thisFund community groups to reduce youth offending(...)Why
National believes that local solutions to youth offending are often the best. Some community groups do great work in keeping young vulnerable kids off the streets and engaged in positive reinforcement.
Funding community groups to reduce youth offending should provide smaller and rural communities the opportunity to reduce offending and give young people better opportunities to realise their potential.
HowNational would establish a $30 million contestable fund to support community groups in reducing youth offending.
Community groups with programmes that seek to reduce offending or reoffending for young people over a 12 of 24 month period would be entitled to apply for funding.
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Save thisReduce sentences for low risk prisoners who complete training and treatment programmes(...)Why
National believes that rehabilitation programmes work and more prisoners should complete them. Public safety is enhanced in many cases by undertaking rehabilitation and reintegration programmes, and controlled release into the community.
Reducing sentences for low risk prisoners who complete training and treatment programmes should encourage more prisoners to participate in the programmes and reduce reoffending.
HowNational would reduce sentences for low risk prisoners who complete training and treatment programmes.
Prisoners who complete a training or treatment programme would be eligible for a 10 per cent reduction in their sentence. Judges would have a discretion to exclude people from eligibility for the reduction.
Only prisoners serving sentences of two years or less would be able to get the sentence reduction.
For prisoners serving over two years, National would introduce individualised training and treatment plans and provide an opportunity for early feedback from the Parole Board. Successful completion of training or treatment would allow prisoners serving two years or more to have an early parole hearing.
National would increase funding for rehabilitation programmes by $48 million over four years.
;" class="bgcolor">Labour
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Save thisEnsure access to justice for trans people(...)Why
Labour believes that everyone should have the same basic rights, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or sex characteristics.
At the moment, trans people aren’t always fairly treated in the criminal justice system. This is especially the case in prison, when trans people are misgendered and placed at risk due to their gender identity.
HowLabour would ensure trans people have fair access to justice and fair treatment by law enforcement and corrections staff and facilities.
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Save thisDisestablish private prisons(...)Why
Labour believes that prison privatisation has been a failure because it has lead to worse outcomes for prisoners. Private prisons are poorly managed, have undermined prisoners’ rights and put prisoners’ safety at risk. The state should retain control and management of prisons to ensure they are properly managed.
HowLabour would end the contract with Serco relating to Auckland South Corrections Facility, Wiri, and would not enter new contracts for private prisons.
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Save thisReform sentencing law to ensure equal treatment(...)Why
Labour believes that all New Zealanders need to be treated equally before the law but there is evidence to show some wealthy people are treated more lightly in sentencing than others. Sentencing law needs to be reformed to ensure equality.
HowLabour would reform sentencing law to ensure equal treatment by changing the Sentencing Act.
The Sentencing Act sets out factors judges take into account when passing a sentence. Aggravating factors like violence, use of a weapon and assault on police are applied to sentences, but not considered when deciding whether to grant discharges without conviction. Labour would make aggravating factors applicable to decisions to grant discharges without conviction.
;" class="bgcolor">ACT
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Save thisImpose spending controls on beneficiaries whose children repeatedly offend(...)Why
ACT believes parents and legal guardians are not held to account when their children commit repeated criminal offences. Introducing harsher measures for parents of truant children should help children to attend school.
HowACT would impose spending controls on beneficiary parents whose children repeatedly offend.
Their benefit would become subject to ‘income management’. This means that the government pays the benefit towards rent, electricity, food and other basic necessities before paying any remainder to the recipient in cash.
ACT would also require beneficiary parents whose children repeatedly offend to attend parenting classes.
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Save thisExtend the three strikes law to burglary(...)Why
ACT believes everyone should feel safe at home, in public, and at work. Even non-violent crimes like burglary have a traumatising effect on victims.
But current penalties for burglary are too light. Extending the three strike law to burglary should increase these penalties and discourage people from committing burglary.
HowACT will extend the three strikes law to burglary.
The three strikes law requires a person sentenced for three qualifying offences to serve the maximum sentence for the third offence without parole. Qualifying offences currently only include serious violent offences.
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Save thisReward prisoners who complete or teach literacy, numeracy or driver licensing programmes with reduced sentences(...)Why
ACT believes that prisoners don’t have enough incentive to take responsibility for their own success. 70 per cent of prisoners also have low literacy and numeracy, which is a major barrier to getting employed.
Reducing the sentences of prisoners who complete or teach literacy, numeracy or driver licensing programmes should encourage prisoners to prepare for life outside of prison, reducing reoffending.
HowACT would reduce the sentences of prisoners who complete literacy, numeracy or driver licensing programmes.
Prisoners who volunteer to teach other prisoners in these programmes would also receive credit. The scheme would not be available to the worst violent or sexual offenders.
The maximum credit would be capped at six weeks for every year of the sentence. The Parole Board would continue to make decisions on suitability for parole.
Young people serving sentences in youth justice facilities who achieve NCEA level 2 would also be eligible for six weeks early release.
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Save thisRelax regulations limiting volunteering for prison education and rehabilitation(...)Why
ACT believes that non government organisations should be more involved in providing education and training to prisoners. The state does not have a monopoly on good ideas, and too often government fails in its goals, despite good intentions.
There are 2,500 volunteers registered to provide support to prisoners. But there’s too much regulation preventing them from doing more to provide this support.
HowACT would relax the regulations limiting volunteering by community groups who run rehabilitation programmes for prisoners.
ACT would allow these groups to access Department of Corrections funds without requiring their staff and volunteers to be registered teachers.
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Save thisIncrease sentences for young offenders(...)Why
ACT believes young offenders need to gain the skills necessary to lead peaceful and productive lives. Currently young people can only be sentenced to youth justice facilities for three to six months.
Increasing sentences for young offenders should remove them from the situations they were in when they were offending.
HowACT would increase sentences for young offenders. Young offenders would be able to be sentenced to up to one year in a youth justice facility.
ACT would also increase funding for youth justice facilities by $15 million. The funding would be to provide more beds.
;" class="bgcolor">Green
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Save thisStop the construction of new prisons(...)Why
The Green Party believes that the justice system is badly broken and in need of reform. New Zealand has one of the highest rates of imprisonment in the world and the costs are growing rapidly.
Building more prisons will not reduce rates of imprisonment. A sustainable and long-term approach is needed to keep communities safe while reducing the number of people who are locked up.
HowThe Green Party would impose a moratorium of the construction of new prisons, except for the purposes of replacement.
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Save thisSeek cross-party consensus on reducing the prison population(...)Why
The Green Party believes that the justice system is badly broken and in need of reform. New Zealand has one of the highest rates of imprisonment in the world and the costs are growing rapidly.
New Zealand needs a sustainable and long-term approach to keep communities safe while reducing the number of people who are locked up.
HowThe Green Party would seek cross-party consensus on reducing the prison population. Possible reforms include changing the law about bail, which was changed in 2013 to make it more difficult to get bail ahead of trial.
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Save thisImplement the Waitangi Tribunal’s recommendations on Māori overrepresentation in the criminal justice system(...)Why
The Green Party believes that Māori overrepresentation in the justice system is getting worse. It accepts The Waitangi Tribunal’s recent finding that the Department of Corrections is breaching the Treaty principles of equity and active protection because it isn’t doing enough to reduce Māori reoffending.
The government needs to implement the Tribunal’s recommendations to uphold the Treaty. This should reduce the consequences of overrepresentation in the criminal justice system on Māori families and communities.
HowThe Green Party would implement the Tribunal’s recommendations from its report on Māori overrepresentation in the criminal justice system.
The report recommended that the Department of Corrections Māori Advisory Board should be involved in high-level decisions by the Department, and the Department should develop a new Māori-specific strategy for reducing reoffending. A dedicated budget should be created to support the strategy. Progress on achieving reductions should be regularly and publically reported on.
The Green Party would also support tikanga and te reo Māori programmes in prisons and youth justice centres, and iwi and hapū collaboration in prison management.
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Save thisLegalise medical cannabis(...)Why
The Green Party believes that current cannabis laws are out of date and are punishing people in pain, and at a significant cost to the economy. Medicinal cannabis should not only be legal but affordable, and recent changes to the law do not achieve this.
Legalising cannabis for medicinal use should ensure sick people and those in pain can afford the products they need and catch New Zealand up with global developments.
HowThe Green Party would legalise the use, cultivation and possession of cannabis for people with a terminal illness or debilitating condition, provided they have the support of a registered medical practitioner.
Immediate relatives or other nominated persons would be permitted to administer or supply the cannabis.
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Save thisWork toward legalising cannabis for personal use(...)Why
The Green Party believes that current cannabis laws are out of date. They criminalise individuals and families and support a black market, even though the health risks of cannabis use are relatively low.
Cannabis use should be treated as a health issue rather than a criminal one. Legalising cannabis for personal use and regulating its supply should reduce the harms of criminalisation and make it safer for those who use it.
HowThe Green Party would review overseas experience with legal cannabis markets before legalising the personal use, possession or cultivation of small amounts of cannabis.
A legal age use age would be set, and education campaigns in schools and the community would explain the harms of extended cannabis use.
The current law around driving under the influence of cannabis will be replaced with one that is based on cannabinoid levels that correlates with impairment, and cannabis would be specifically included in the provisions of the Smokefree Environments Act.
;" class="bgcolor">TOP
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Save thisAim to reduce the number of prisoners to 6,000 by 2027(...)Why
The Opportunities Party believes that there are too many people in prison. This is costing a lot of money and increasing crime rates by removing people from society and putting people in contact with gangs.
This situation is the result of the government’s approach to criminal justice rather than the actual crime rate. Prison isn’t the solution to crime. The main causes of crime are social and economic, so the best ways to prevent it are through tax, health, welfare and housing measures.
Reducing the prison population should reduce crime and save the government money. These savings would allow the government to invest in helping people reintegrate back into society.
HowThe Opportunities Party would aim to reduce the number of prisoners to 6,000 by 2027 or an average of 114 prisoners per 100,000 people. This level is near the average for developed countries. New Zealand's prison population is now over 10,000.
The Opportunities Party would achieve this target by focussing on rehabilitation and restorative justice rather than putting people in prison. Rehabilitation is about restoring people to normal life and restorative justice is about putting things right between the victim and offender.
In particular, the Opportunities Party would make changes to the Bail Amendment Act, the Parole Act and the Clean Slate Act.
The Bail Amendment Act would be changed to reduce the number of people in prison awaiting trial or sentencing. Currently, this law makes it difficult for people charged with crimes to get bail, which results in about one third of prisoners being imprisoned before being convicted of a crime.
The Parole Act would be amended to make it easier for long-term prisoners to receive parole earlier.
The Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Act would be reviewed to allow people’s criminal records to be wiped earlier. Currently they are wiped after seven years, provided the person was not sentenced to prison. The Opportunities Party would reduce the seven year period and widen the law’s application to include those who have been imprisoned.
The Opportunities Party would also repeal the ‘three strikes’ law. This requires a person sentenced for three qualifying offences to serve the maximum sentence for the third offence without parole.
The Opportunities Party estimates that these reductions would save the government around $4.5 billion over the next 10 years. These savings would be used to fund alternatives to prions.
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Save thisRaise the Youth Court age to include people aged 19(...)Why
The Opportunities Party believes that the Youth Court works well to reduce youth offending. It has contributed to a reduction in youth offending of 48 percent. Prisons are much worse at reducing offending, with 85 per cent of people under 20 reoffending within 5 years of leaving prison.
Raising the age of the Youth Court from 17 to 19 means people under 20 would have access to more effective rehabilitation programs. This should reduce the number of people in prison.
HowThe Opportunities Party would raise the Youth Court age from 17 to 19.
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Save thisSentence more people to drug and alcohol treatment instead of prison(...)Why
The Opportunities Party believes the justice system should focus on rehabilitation rather than putting more people in prison. Alcohol and drug addictions are major causes of crime and 87 per cent of prisoners have trouble with drugs at some point in their lives, compared with 12 percent of non-prisoners.
Alcohol and Drug Courts, which focus on people’s additions, have been effective at reducing reoffending. Sentencing more people to drug and alcohol treatment should be more effective in the long run than sending people with addictions to prison where they will receive less support and be more likely to reoffend.
HowThe Opportunities Party would sentence more people to drug and alcohol treatment instead of prison. This would be achieved by increasing the number of Alcohol and Drug Courts from two to seven over the next two years.
Offenders sentenced at the Alcohol and Drug Court would only go to prison if they don’t complete their treatment.
There would be three in Auckland and one each in Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton and Dunedin.
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Save thisRepeal the three strikes law(...)Why
The Opportunities Party believes that the justice system should focus on rehabilitation rather than putting more people in prison. The three strikes law contributes to New Zealand’s high prison population and doesn’t reduce reoffending. Repealing it should reduce the number of people in prison.
HowThe Opportunities Party would repeal the three strikes law.
This requires a person sentenced for three qualifying offences to serve the maximum sentence for the third offence without parole. Qualifying offences currently only include serious violent offences.
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Save thisAllow prisoners to vote(...)Why
The Opportunities Party believes the justice system should focus on rehabilitation rather than putting more people in prison. Currently, people serving prison sentences are not allowed to vote which excludes them from the community and makes them less likely to follow the law.
The law preventing prisoners from voting has been found by the courts to be inconsistent with New Zealand’s human rights law, the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. Allowing prisoners to vote should better support their rehabilitation and uphold their rights.
HowThe Opportunities Party would allow all prisoners sentenced to less than three years in prison to vote.
The Opportunities Party would also make changes to other laws which affect the rights of prisoners, such as the Parole Act, which affects when a prisoner can get early release from prison, and the Clean Slate Act, which provides privacy about a person’s criminal history after a certain amount of time has passed.
;" class="bgcolor">NZ First
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Save thisIntroduce a demerit points system for youth offenders(...)Why
NZ First believes the system doesn’t require youth offenders to take responsibility for their actions. It is too easy to avoid serious sentences and a criminal record.
Introducing a ‘demerit points’ system for dealing with repeat offending should make the youth justice system more consistent, transparent and accountable.
HowNew Zealand First would introduce a ‘demerit points’ system for youth offenders who repeatedly break the law.
Demerit points would be allocated based on how serious the crime is.
Lower level crimes for first-time offenders would result in assessment, support and guidance for the offender and their parents. An offender would get more demerit points for higher level crimes and reoffending. This would result in a more serious response including Family Group Conferences, Youth Court or District Court.
When a youth offender has accrued enough points or committed a serious enough offence, they would go directly to Youth Court. Any offending after that at any level would be heard in District Court.
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Save thisReduce benefit payments to parents of children who commit crimes(...)Why
New Zealand First believes that the law doesn’t currently require parents to take enough responsibility for their children’s offending.
Reducing benefits to the parents of children who commit crimes should encourage parents to take greater responsibility for their children and reduce youth offending.
HowNew Zealand First would reduce benefit payments to parents of children who commit crimes.
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Save thisRepeal the anti-smacking law(...)Why
New Zealand First believes that the law preventing parents from smacking children doesn’t work and has increased violence towards children.
HowNew Zealand First would repeal the anti-smacking law, which removed the defence of reasonable force to a charge of assault against a child.
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Save thisLower the age of criminal responsibility(...)Why
New Zealand First believes the system doesn’t require youth offenders to take responsibility for their actions. It is too easy to avoid serious sentences and a criminal record.
Lowering the age of criminal responsibility should increase the consequences of breaking the law and reduce youth offending.
HowNew Zealand First would lower the age of criminal responsibility.
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Save thisSet up a publicly available child sex offender register(...)Why
New Zealand First believes the rights of victims are paramount, and the public deserves to know when sex offenders are returned to the community.
HowNew Zealand First would set up a publicly available child sex offender register.
;" class="bgcolor">Māori Party
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Save thisRepeal the three strikes law(...)Why
The Māori Party believes that the three strikes legislation buries whānau in prisons and has not worked to reduce reoffending. It disproportionately affects Māori and should be repealed.
HowThe Māori Party would repeal the three strikes legislation.
The three strikes law requires a person sentenced for three qualifying offences to serve the maximum sentence for the third offence without parole. Qualifying offences currently only include serious violent offences.
The Māori Party would also repeal other laws which disproportionately affect Māori, such as the Bail Amendment Act 2013 and the law preventing prisoners from voting.
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Save thisExpand kaupapa Māori restorative justice programmes(...)Why
The Māori Party believes that punitive criminal justice measures, like the National Party’s proposed bootcamps, do not work at reducing offending or reoffending because they do not address the cause of young people’s offending.
Māori could make better use of the resources invested into punitive measures and prisons through kaupapa Māori, community based approaches to criminal justice.
Expanding these kinds of programmes should reduce offending and lessen the need for imprisonment and punitive justice.
HowThe Māori Party would implement, prioritise and expand restorative justice programmes.
These would be kaupapa led and community based, and would have a preventative focus to prevent young people from offending in the first place.
Part of this approach will be centred around helping unemployed young people into work.
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Save thisStop the construction of new prisons and expand Whare Oranga Ake in existing prisons(...)Why
The Māori Party believes that there are better ways of spending than investment in building new prisons. Māori are more likely to be imprisoned and sentenced for longer than other ethnicities.
The Māori Party believes that Māori offenders can benefit greatly from specialised Māori approaches to rehabilitation and reintegration that cohere with Whare Oranga Ake principles. Stopping the construction of new prisons and expanding Whare Oranga Ake should reduce the over-imprisonment of Māori.
HowThe Māori Party would place a moratorium on the building of new prisons. The current investment in prisons would be redirected to community justice approaches to criminal justice.
In addition, the Māori Party would expand the provision of Whare Oranga Ake and Māori Focus Units in existing prisons. This would involve extending the Whare Oranga Ake to every prison service and funding te reo and tikanga programmes in all prisons.
The Māori Party would also support iwi-led, kaupapa focused initiatives in prisons aimed at reducing reoffending.
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Save thisProvide racial bias training for everyone working in the criminal justice system(...)Why
The Māori Party believes that there is a problem with institutional racism in the New Zealand justice system. Providing racial bias training for everyone working in the criminal justice system should reduce racism in the criminal justice system.
HowThe Māori Party would provide racial bias training for all those who work in the criminal justice system.
An independent group would also be established to oversee a Māori justice strategy in accordance with Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
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Save thisAim to reduce Māori imprisonment by 30 percent by 2027 and all imprisonment by 25 per cent by 2025(...)Why
The Māori Party believes that a disproportionate number of Māori are imprisoned compared to other cultural and ethnic groups. The prison population as a whole is too high also.
HowThe Māori Party would reduce the rate of Māori over-imprisonment in a number of ways.
One measure would be to repeal the Bail Amendment Act 2013. This law makes it difficult for people charged with crimes to get bail, which results in about one third of prisoners being imprisoned before being convicted of a crime.