Why Mark Mitchell’s longer prison system plan won’t work

Mark Mitchell wants short prison sentences scrapped in hope of reducing reoffending

The Corrections Minister is looking at scrapping short prison sentences in favour of longer ones, in the hope of reducing reoffending.

Mark Mitchell said people with longer sentences have more access to rehabilitation and therefore more successfully re-enter society.

The idea is only being looked into, but it’s Mitchell’s preference if it led to fewer victims overall – even if it required building more prisons due to an increase in the prison population.

“When violent offenders receive short sentences or are released without proper rehabilitation, it puts the public at risk. I have asked Corrections to look into how short sentences relate to re-offending with a view of gaining a better understanding,” Mitchell told RNZ.

“We want to see offenders turn their lives around and become meaningful, contributing members of society.

Firstly I love that he’s pretending to give a fuck about prisoners, because the entire Right Wing in NZ get sexually aroused at the thought of making prisoners suffer, so watching Mark Mitchell pretend he cares is just lovely isn’t it?

It’s like Trump claiming he’s a feminist.

Here’s Mark’s argument: Prisoners getting released haven’t done any rehabilitation.

Let’s all pause and start laughing now.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

You don’t say champ?

Of course prisoners aren’t rehabilitated after they go through our corrupt, violent and overcrowded prison system!

Mark’s idiotic solution to a system that takes damaged men and releases monsters (BECAUSE the Prison system is so brutalising), HIS solution is putting more men in prison for longer?

Wow.

Slow clap for the thickest meat and 3 vege in Cabinet.

Let me explain why this is so counter productive.

The academic research shows us that prisoners kept at home on home detention have a lower reoffence rate than those kept in prison BECAUSE  prison is so brutalising.

Mark’s issue is that many prisoners are released without undergoing any rehabilitation because their sentences are too short to gain rehabilitation.

Here’s the problem with rehabilitation – for the serious crime, Prisoners have to admit their guilt or they aren’t eligible for rehab programs.

The greatest number of people in prison not having rehab are prisoners held on remand who are awaiting trial, and they are not going to do rehabilitation programs if it means an admission of guilt will they?

Look, there are absolutely sadists, psychopaths and career criminals who require genuine punishment for their crimes and need to be locked up until they are no longer a threat to the community, of course there are – but they are the minority even in prison, many are just broken damaged men who are further brutalised by the prison process.

If you want to make rehabilitation meaningful, you would provide it to prisoners serving their time on home deletion because they have the space to reflect and heal in the safety of their home – trying that in a prison environment where admitting any emotion is seen as weakness in a cultural landscape of damaged masculinity will never bloody work!

All Mark’s plan will do is put vastly more men into overcrowded, under resourced, corrupt and violent prison system, where they won’t access rehabilitation services because they have to admit guilt and that will lead to them doing full lags without a days worth of rehabilitation and come out the other end even more violent.

The Right have no credibility pretending to care for prisoners.

 

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