Advocates at odds over sentencing reforms for violent crime

The coalition Government’s crackdown on crime continues with controversial new sentencing reforms leaving two advocacy groups divided over the appropriate consequences for violent criminals.

The Sentencing (Reform) Amendment Bill, passed into law late last week, caps the discounts judges can give for factors such as early guilty pleas, and family background and cultural factors, at 40 per cent.

The law change also restricts repeat discounts for young age, and a new aggravating factor for crimes against home-business owners and sole workers has been introduced.

The Walk Without Fear Trust charity says sentencing reforms are a “vital step in deterring repeat offenders and restoring public confidence in the justice system".

However, Dr Grace Gordon, volunteer advocate for People Against Prisons Aotearoa criticises the assumption that harsher sentences deter crime, and expresses concern about the enforcement of capping sentence discounts.

The Walk Without Fear Trust spokesperson, Mike Angove, says misuse of sentencing discounts has led to lenient sentences for recidivist offenders.

“By the time you add those [discounts] up, you can have someone who's guilty of quite a serious crime like manslaughter from a coward punch, who gets his sentence discounted by 40 per cent.

“Now I'm sorry, that's a little bit ridiculous.

“If you’re 18, I think the impact of your family upbringing can be taken into account.

“If you’re a 35-year-old man who’s a violent offender, you should no longer be eligible for those discounts and those discounts are applied because precedent has been set by the judiciary far too easily.”

Dr Gordon says there is a different range of factors like mental health issues and past abuse that should be taken into account to someone’s offending.

“It takes away the judicial discretion for judges to make individual decisions based on the people they see in court.

“There's so many grey areas of sentencing, that having this arbitrary cap can create some outcomes that are going to push people into prison for longer, and that's not going to actually achieve greater collective and sustainable safety for all of us.”

Angove acknowledges a rehabilitative approach is important, but says it must be balanced with deterrence and community safety.

“We should absolutely not discount restorative justice solutions, early interventions, and opportunities for rehabilitation.

“But while all that goes on, equally, we do not allow someone to get away with killing someone and tapping them on the hand with a feather.

“That also doesn't protect the public.

“We've got to work these things in unison and ... the pendulum has swung way too far in favour of the perpetrator, as opposed to giving victims some assurance the criminal is going to be punished.”

Dr Gordon argues, however, the justice system doesn't in fact hold people to account.

“It takes them away from actually exposing themselves to the harm that they've caused.

“[Victims] want to see that the perpetrator is conscious and aware of the hurt they've caused and by removing someone through prison takes away those opportunities.”

New Zealand’s imprisonment rate is around 187 per 100,000 people in contrast with the OECD average of 147 per 100,000 people according to Ministry of Justice figures.