I have been following the progress of the government’s Sentencing and Parole Reform Bill (of which you can read in full here since ACT campaigned on the 'three strikes' concept in the 2008 New Zealand General Election.
Recently, the bill passed its third reading, turning it into the law. National and ACT had the numbers to pass the bill with 63 votes in favour. Labour has always strongly and publicly opposed the bill, and they, along with other minority parties in government, raised 58 votes opposed. The Progressive Party did not cast a vote. A better account of the process of enactment of the bill can be found on the Herald website.
Basically, the Bill sets down a new process for an " escalating regime of penalties", as stated by corrections officer, Judith Collins.
Strike One: the offender receives a sentence, as determined by the judge, with parole. The offender will be warned by the judge of the consequences of committing another violent offence.
Strike Two: the offender receives a sentence, as determined by the judge, with no parole. Again the offender is warned of the consequence of committing another violent crime.
Strike Three: the offender will receive the maximum sentence for the crime with no parole unless it is manifestly unjust.
There are 40 listed serious violent offenses.
As already mentioned, major criticism has come from Labour, however in a statement During the debate MP Hone Harawira argued that the policy was "outright bloody racism" against Maori. Although I can see flaws in the policy, I fail to see how this is "outright" racism, if if could be considered 'racist' at all. Yes, statistics in regards to ethnicities that are imprisoned are highly unequal, however the bill is not addressed solely at those convicted of Maori descent, but towards everyone.
In saying that, it leads to the biggest flaw in the policy. Act MP, David Garret, has stated that the policy will reduce crime by 10-20% in the future, however the parties/their policies have done nothing to address the heart of crime. Either way, with people being permanently locked up, a new generation of criminals will arrive, and subsequently crowd prisons even further.
It seems that the whole policy is just a desperate attempt to look like they are being "tough on crime", when in reality, all it seems they are doing is shoving the mess under the bed.
The new law is pernicious and mis-guided. In application (under Strike Three) it will effectively remove any sentencing discretion of the judge and impose the maximum sentence for the crime. The imposition of such a sanction is completely contrary to the principle of proportionality and 'just deserts' that underpins the Western criminal justice system with regard to sentencing. The Government is attempting (and evidently succeeding) to dump all recidivist offenders in prison. This unfair legislative change is a very expedient way to do so.
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