Open Letter from JustSpeak to New Justice Sector Ministers

Tēnā koutou Minister Adams, Minister Lotu-Iiga and Minister Woodhouse,

Congratulations from all of us here at JustSpeak on your appointment at the helm of Aotearoa’s justice sector.

We think it’s an exciting place to be at a time when more and more New Zealanders are calling for a compassionate and evidence-based approach to justice issues. New Zealand has realised ‘tough on crime’ has failed; it’s time to be smart about crime.

We are an organisation that has witnessed this shift in public perception. Over the last three-and-a-half years, we have grown to become a large network of young people spread across the country committed to change in the criminal justice system. We look forward to meeting with you all as we continue with the work we do, and we hope to be able to assist you with the work you do.

We have a big vision: to make Aotearoa a more just place for all New Zealanders. We imagine you all have similar visions, too. But we also understand that Ministers face constraints: budgets, a competitive legislative agenda, tight timeframes, and competing priorities. We thought it might be useful for us to set out three legislatively straightforward, budget appropriate, evidence-based policy changes that we want to see in the next three years.

1. Expand the jurisdiction of the Youth Court to include 17-year-olds

New Zealand has a world-leading youth justice system that is specifically designed to deal with young offenders. It holds young offenders accountable for their actions, while involving families and victims in decisions. Rehabilitation is strongly emphasised, and the higher resourcing of the youth system prevents many young offenders from ‘graduating’ to the adult system. An offender who has graduated to the adult system will cost the taxpayer an average of $300,000 in their lifetime. The evidence shows that the youth justice system gets better outcomes for victims, offenders, their families and the wider community.

In breach of our obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, New Zealand’s youth court jurisdiction currently excludes 17-year-olds. It also doesn’t make sense on a practical level: in almost all other ways, 17-year-olds are not treated as adults. We’ve done the sums, and at only an additional $66.1m per year, allowing 17-year-olds a chance to get back on the right track is a smart investment in this country’s future. If we can keep young people out of the adult criminal justice system, we might be able to stop the revolving door ever opening.

2. Allow prisoners the right to vote

Currently, s 80(1)(d) of the Electoral Act 1993 denies all prisoners sentenced after 15 December 2010 the right to enrol or vote in a general election. This applies to anyone serving a sentence of imprisonment on the date of the election – regardless of how short that sentence may be. We think all prisoners should be able to vote, and at the very least the law should be returned to the pre-2010 state whereby prisoners serving sentences of less than three years could vote.

Section 12 of the Bill of Rights Act 1990 provides that all New Zealand citizens aged 18 or over have the right to vote. As was stated by Attorney-General Christopher Finlayson in his section 7 report prior to the passage of the relevant amending act, s 80(1)(d) is unjustifiably inconsistent with this right. This legislative amendment did not achieve its objective of preventing the most serious offenders from voting (they were already banned from voting); instead, it prevents anyone who happens to be in prison on Election Day from voting.

Beyond our concern about how removing prisoners’ right to vote breaches fundamental human rights, we know on a practical level this disenfranchisement serves no justifiable purpose. The vast majority of prisoners are released back into our communities at some stage. We have an interest in ensuring they feel committed to their families, communities and country upon release so that they do not reoffend. Voting is one way we can encourage them to engage in a positive and meaningful way with their role as citizens.

This change will require no significant budget reallocation (in fact, it could save resources, given the work this law requires of the Electoral Commission, and the costs of continuing litigation) and no significant legislative change – simply the removal of s 80(1)(d). It’s a small change but a symbolic one, and one that we think would show the government to be above reactionary, punitive thinking and instead committed to policies that have positive outcomes.

3. Greater investment and support in services for reintegration

In our recent report Unlocking Prisons: How we can improve New Zealand’s prison system, we made a number of recommendations on the need for greater investment and support in reintegration services. We found that while there is some level of support available to offenders in terms of housing and employment, far more needs to be done to extend the availability of these opportunities.

One change we want to see is for Specialist Treatment Units and training opportunities to be available to all prisoners who wish to participate. Corrections does run effective rehabilitative programmes for prisoners addicted to alcohol and drugs, serious violent offenders, and sexual offenders; however, the opportunity to participate in these programmes is not available in all prisons, and only available to limited numbers of the inmates in the selected prisons. We believe rehabilitation and reintegration opportunities are too important to leave to the chance that prisoners will be housed at a particular regional facility. We also see scope for greater engagement with employers who may be able to employ prisoners upon release.

***

We’re excited about the next three years and the opportunity to work with you all in achieving less crime and better outcomes for all New Zealanders. We would love to have an opportunity to chat with you and share more of our ideas for shaping a more just Aotearoa.

Ngā mihi nui,

Julia Whaipooti and Zsofia Hellyer
Co-Chairs of JustSpeak

ends

© Scoop Media