Banning loan for disqualified drivers short sighted

“Judith Collins decision to stop disqualified drivers from getting a Work and Income loans to cover the cost of a Court application for a temporary license, is remarkably short-sighted” , says Kim Workman, Rethinking Crime and Punishment. “Once again, this government is finding new ways of punishing offenders, over and above the penalties imposed by the Court.”

“Getting a temporary license is often a passport to a job. Many offenders are on the breadline and haven’t got that sort of money. Declining a loan to someone who wants to put their offending behind them makes it harder for them to succeed. It could mean the difference between getting a job and remaining unemployed.”

“It may also mean that some offenders will decide to drive while disqualified.”

“Policies of this kind are often formulated “on the trot”, without any thinking about how offenders living in poverty might react,” said Kim Workman. “Before deciding on policies, public servants should get advice from ex-offenders, and people living in poverty, and advise their Ministers of the likely consequences of such policy decisions downstream. They might then come up with policies that discourage offending, rather than promote it.”

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