Family First is welcoming the reintroduction of the Three Strikes Law, saying that it will protect families from repeat violent offenders who have already been given two chances.

A 2023 poll found that just 16% of New Zealanders oppose bringing back the ‘Three Strikes’ law which was recently repealed by the Labour Government with the support of the Greens and Te Pati Maori. Two in three are supportive of the Three Strikes Law, and a further 19% were unsure.

Ironically, the then-Minister of Justice Kris Faafoi when introducing the bill to scrap the law said “the public don’t like this law”.

In a 2018 report, Justice Department officials admitted that “…in comparison with second strikeable offences committed before the law came into effect there has been a drop in the number of second strike offences since the laws implementation.”

“The Labour government had no public mandate for scrapping it, and the evidence suggests that the law was having the desired effect. There had been a dramatic drop from the number of 1st strikes to 2nd strikes and then again to a third strike. Criminals aren’t stupid. They are well aware of the law and its consequences. When the regime was scrapped, the government sent a message that we’re not serious about the It’s Not OK zero-tolerance message on family violence, or zero tolerance on gun violence or sexual violence, in fact violence in general. The Three Strikes law reinforces that we take victimisations seriously,” says Bob McCoskrie, CEO of Family First NZ.

An Official Information Act request at the end of 2018 said that for 2nd and 3rd strikers:

• they had an average of 42 convictions as an adult. For 3rd strikers, it’s an average of 74 convictions
• 91% were assessed as being at a high risk of reoffending
• 56% committed their 2nd strike on bail or parole or while serving a sentence.
• 40% have a “strike type” conviction from prior to the three strikes regime

“This data indicates that the three strikes regime was accurately targeting the serious recidivist offenders, and that is why there has been such strong support for the law.”

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