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NZ JUSTICE SYSTEM IN DENIAL OVER NEW BOOK

A new book on the failings of New Zealand’s justice system is provoking major controversy before it has even hit shop shelves.

BADLANDS: NZ – A LAND FIT FOR CRIMINALS, is written by former British probation service official and national crime intelligence service analyst David Fraser, and it claims New Zealanders have been kept in the dark about the real reasons for New Zealand’s high crime rate.

One former NZ justice official has today issued a news release claiming Fraser is unknown and his work has never been published in a “reputable” journal.

Badlands publisher Ian Wishart says a quick scan of news stories shows Fraser’s previous book on the UK justice system was given high praise by the prestigious Times of London newspaper’s book review section. The Times says Fraser’s book provides “timely criticism of the criminal justice system…startling observations…damning.”

The reviewer also said David Fraser’s book was a “welcome antidote” to the claims of restorative justice advocates, and praised Fraser for his “impeccable research”.

For someone who is “unknown” as a commentator on justice and crime, it seems strange that he could walk off the street and command reviews like these from the other large British newspapers:

“A wonderful antidote to the poisonous myths so assiduously promoted by the anti-prison lobby.” --Sunday Telegraph

“A devastating critique (and) startling insider's account of the deception being played upon the public.” --Daily Mail

“A powerful 'wake-up' call which Britons at all levels can afford to ignore only at their peril.” --The Commonwealth Lawyer

A reviewer for Britain’s Social Affairs Unit wrote of the book:

“The main thrust of this book is an exercise in ideological demolition. The self-serving motivation of the criminal justice elite is exposed and ridiculed. As is the underlying ideology that has fed lies to the public day in and day out and has managed to dissuade most politicians from standing up for the victims of crime.”

New Zealand’s Kim Workman in his news release negating Fraser today, quoted British Probation Service official Phil Wheatley as his source on the credibility of David Fraser, but here’s what one commentator (General Sir David Ramsbotham) in the Guardian newspaper had to say about Phil Wheatley, clearly suggesting Wheatley is part of the problem:

“If Jack Straw and Phil Wheatley do not resign, they should also be subject to a performance capability for what the Sonnex verdict exposes of the damage they have done to the probation service.”

“There is a valid debate to be had about criminal justice policy in New Zealand,” said Badlands publisher Ian Wishart today, “but New Zealand justice insiders are going to need to lift their game much higher if they want the media and the public to take them seriously. Shooting the messenger is the oldest trick in the book, but in this case they missed. Badlands is opening up the debate, the public will make up their own minds.”

Badlands: NZ – A Land Fit For Criminals by David Fraser, $41.90, Howling At The Moon Publishing Ltd, onsale Tuesday April 26
ENDS

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