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Labor will repeal the legislation on the three strikes if it wins the election as part of the party’s campaign to reduce the prison population.
Justice Minister Andrew Little had wanted to repeal the law this period, but NZ First blocked it.
Announcing the party’s public order policy in Northland on Friday, Labor leader Jacinda Ardern said “the old ways have failed us for decades.”
“We will continue the work begun in this parliamentary term to reduce crime, reduce victimization, address the root causes of crime, and improve the safety and well-being of the community,” Ardern said.
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The three strikes law, dating from 2010, established a system of escalating consequences for repeat violent offenders.
When an offender reaches his third strike, the sentence should be the maximum possible unless the court finds that it would be grossly unfair.
Labor said the law was “leading to absurd results” and that it wanted “to focus instead on building a criminal justice system that guarantees fewer crimes, fewer crimes and fewer crime victims who are better supported.”
The party’s public order policy also promised to reduce the prison population by 30% in 15 years. The prison population has just dropped below 9,000 for the first time since 2016.
Justice spokesman Andrew Little said “Thirty years of locking up more people for longer has not made communities safe and has resulted in a 61 percent recidivism rate.”
“We need to break the cycle of recidivism and to do so we must address the factors that drive crime.”
“Victims are still fighting to have their voices heard in the criminal justice system and we will work to strengthen their place and make sure their voices are heard.”
Labor planned to implement a methamphetamine treatment program for 4,000 more people. The scheme, The way to live It has been piloted in Northland, but Labor wanted to implement it in other regions such as the East Coast and the Bay of Plenty, where methamphetamine use is high.
The way of living it is a partnership between the police and the district sanitary boards. It reduces supply through targeted enforcement and reduces demand by directing drug users to recovery and treatment programs and helping them find work.
Simon O’Connor / Stuff
Union Leader Jacinda Ardern and Justice Spokesperson Andrew Little
“The valuable work of Iwi Liaison Officers and Ethnic Liaison Officers within the police will also be strengthened as we continue to work to reduce victimization and violations and better support community safety,” he said They will burn.
The job would also invest $ 10 million over four years in Wāhine Māori Pathways. The plan was based on the Māori Pathways program introduced by the Labor Party in this term, which supports offenders from pre-sentencing through reintegration and transition into the community.
It includes Maori trauma and mental health support, expanded rehabilitation services for the highly secure, housing transition support, dedicated employment services, and increased involvement of the Whānau, Hapū and Iwi.
The new system would specifically target Maori Wahine – Maori women. Labor said existing strategies for dealing with offenders had been designed to reflect the largely male prison population, ignoring women.
Maori Wahine make up 68% of the female prison population.
The other pillar of the party’s justice policy was a commitment to strengthening Maori, Pacific and ethnic services within the police.
The Labor Party still wanted to increase the number of policemen, saying it wanted to maintain a ratio of one police officer for every 500 people.
Police spokesman Stuart Nash said the Labor Party “will keep the momentum” in police growth.
“We will maintain the growth momentum in the number of police officers to match the population growth. The police-to-population ratio improved from 1 full-time officer per 541 residents as of June 30, 2017 to 1: 496 in February 2020, ”Nash said.
