Opposition cries foul over tougher sentencing laws
Opposition parties are crying foul as the government toughens sentencing laws, arguing locking criminals up for longer won’t work.
Coalition parties campaigned on a law and order crackdown and have now passed legislation they say will make the public feel safer.
“We’ve seen too many instances of people being convicted of serious violent offences, whether rape or serious assaults, and through a process of discounts ending up with very light sentences,” Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said.
“It’s quite appropriate for Parliament to send a clearer message to the judiciary that we want to restrict the ability for those sentences to be reduced.”
The changes cap the discounts judges can apply during sentencing to 40 percent and scrap repeat discounts for youth and remorse.
There are three new aggravating factors: penalising offenders who target sole charge workers, those who aid and abet young people and those who livestream their crimes.
The changes also encourage longer sentences for people who offend on bail, in custody or on parole and implement a ‘sliding scale’ for early guilty pleas so an offender can only get a 5 percent discount if they change their plea to guilty during their trial.
Goldsmith said the changes should give the public more confidence the punishments being dished out by the courts fit the crimes.
“We’ve developed, sadly, in this country a culture of excuses for crime. That ends this week.”
This venal hard right tough on crime bullshit jamboree of a Government love throwing human beings into our underfunded, corrupt and violent prison system with zero compassion.
We are fed a constant clickbait media diet of crime porn by the mainstream media who are desperate for ratings.
If it bleeds, it leads.
This creates. unique cultural dynamic in NZ Crime.
Young angry Māori and Pacifica youth attack exploited Chinese and Indian migrant workers in Dairy’s, bottle shops and petrol stations while the white middle class suburbs gasp that something must be done.
The ‘something that must be done’ in this case is robbing Judges of the desecration and independence we place with them and throwing vastly more popes into our broken prison system.
Our underfunded, corrupt and violent prison system.
All this policy will do is spike our prison muster through the roof and guarantee the next prison riot.
Wait for Goldsmith to agree why we need private prisons as the solution to the massive prison population he’s about two build.
Our fears are so easily manipulated by the Right.
Ain’t it funny how the factories doors close?‘Round the time that the school doors close?‘Round the time that the doors of the jail cellsOpen up to greet you like the reaper?
System of a Down
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Building new prisons is a little easier to explain than it is to explain why New Zealand can’t have a first world housing energy and public transport program and health and all of the above.
Exactly who said that good economic management was blaming the previous government for why we have to slash and burn the government Budget. New Zealand roads can’t handle the already 30,000 shipping containers a day and the National Party’s priority is “prisons???”
Again what is economic management?
How to fight a losing battle? You would think that if people understood “those without sin cast the first stone and all have sinned” there would be more concern with prevention than punishment but that is not the case. The various justice dept mistakes where ex prisoners then commit serious crimes drive the demand among the ignorant for more punishment but there never seems to be any call for a better resourced and managed justice dept as a way to reduce crime. I guess that people hope that the bad guys can be locked up forever and don’t consider that when they get out they will just be angrier at society.
I support the idea of prison and punishment and some people are not safe in society but developing a system that just makes people worse is not the answer we need.
Sorry mate but as I’m getting older I’m more concerned about crime and this is a positive step. I’ve only ever voted Labour and Top but I think NZ First lead the way with anything to do with criminality. Some of the ‘discounts’ being dished out for really violent offences have astounded me over the past few years. The comment Tamatha Paul made this week about Police is the dumbest thing I’ve heard since the last time Rawiri Waititi opened his mouth
It is a problem World wide and not just for countries under Right Wing .In UK Labour is releasing prisoners to make room for more .One released prisoner did a murder within 4 hrs of freedom.
I fear going back to a Country ruled by a coalition government that ties the police into being kind not tough and gives smart lawyers leeway to get criminals light sentences.
The police have always been biased towards criminalising poor brown people. No one is going to build prisons after your lot canceled the Irex ferry’s for a second hand ferry that’s going to cost hundreds of millions more.
The ferry deal has not been done yet so as usual you are talking shit . Labour free spending put us in the mess we are in with a huge interest payment on their loans .The ferry was a good deal but the work on the petties had spiraled out of control just like the same problem was experienced in Tasmania . D7n3din hospital was another job allowed to break the bank .This is the same government who took control of building our new pool at 4 times the original budget and 5 years late. Labour could not organize a picnic.
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Oh fuck off Trevor with your nonsense. This CoC has destroyed all the good work Labour did including health and the Ferries that has cost us more and more by day. Punitive actions have proven over time to be a failure. Your anti Labour and left is plain to see and what is clear as day is National couldn’t organize a piss up in a brewery, just ask the young autistic child given anti psychotic medication and the jewelery businesses continuing to be smashed and the high unemployment rate.
Stop embarrassing yourself Trevor.
Health is being destroyed by this CoC, see Nelson hospital and the doctors concerns.
Demand for food banks are higher than ever. National couldn’t organize school lunches let alone a picnic. The divide is greater under National’s cuts to the public sector, yet tax relief to landlords. This borders on corruption.
so the ferries that would be here next year are still 5 years away so the cost may well be double .National have failed on this as the ships were being built as were the ports and still they cant deliver for 5 years something that was all done and dusted for them .
The way corona pricing is now a days means that Irex ferry’s was the best deal we were ever going to get on them. Water under the bridge now. Not just in terms of opportunity cost but our reputation as well.
dont ask anyone in the current government as they dont have a fucken clue .
There was a piece on stuff this morning that you should read and educate your self on what she said .3 academic people said she is 100 % correct in what she said .Around half the population dont feel comfortable in the presence of the police .Just ask a homeless person who has just had their stuff dumped in a skip by the cops and told to move on or a person who is having a mental episode and is ruff handled if they still like police .Another example just last week where they thought an 11 year old girl was 20 ,do you think she or her family and friends have any respect for the police .At no time did Tamatha say that all people had a problem with the police and the media sucked you into believing she had .
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