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Chief Justice Calls for Early Release of Prisoners
Chief Justice’s Call for Early Release of Prisoners a Tipping Point says Rethinking
“The Chief Justice’s suggestion that the government use executive amnesty to release prisoners early, could represent a tipping point in New Zealand penal history,“ said Kim Workman, Director, Rethinking Crime and Punishment. “When the head of the New Zealand judiciary speaks out in this manner, people are bound to take notice.”
“Notwithstanding, what is being suggested is not unusual. Over half the states in the USA are currently implementing or planning to implement early release schemes for prisoners, to alleviate overcrowding. What they now accept is that it can be done without increasing the recidivism rate or the crime rate. Internationally, there is no proven connection between the crime rate and the rate of imprisonment.”
Over the last ten years, about 85% of the increase in NZ prison numbers has come about through longer sentences and tighter parole provisions.
“We need to think of prisons as rivers, with sentences acting as a dam. The longer the sentences, the higher the dam. Early releases lower the dam, and reduces overcrowding.
If for example, all non-violent offenders had their sentences discounted by 10% it would alleviate the current muster crisis.”
“The Chief Justice’s speech called on administrative amnesty as a last measure. What she, and others, would prefer to see is a focus on community education, early intervention, improved mental health and drug and alcohol treatment, an expansion of community based sentences, and improvements in the probation service.”
“What must b e avoided at all costs, is the steady deterioration of the prison system into a third world system, that fails to meet the minimum standards required by the United Nations. We owe it to our Corrections officers, not to allow them to work in the kind of conditions that promote poor mental health, violence, and prisoners that leave prison more inclined to commit crime, than when they went in.”
What is now needed to develop a long term criminal justice reform strategy.
www.rethinking.org.nz
ENDS
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