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Election 2011 - Party Policies - Justice

Election 2011 - Party Policies - Justice

Justice

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  • "Truth in sentencing" - sentences served in full - to be introduced.
  • Life without parole (LWOP) for aggravated murder.
  • Increase police numbers, and recruit overseas police with experience in zero tolerance policing.
  • Zero tolerance policing. Early intervention for minor crime e.g. vandalism, disorderly behaviour, graffiti.
  • Establish special unit in IRD to audit the income of gangs. (more here)

  • Increase funding and support for restorative justice in the criminal justice system.
  • Support for restorative justice after sentencing, particularly in prisons.
  • Adequately fund Victim Support to pay for victims to attend restorative justice processes.
  • Maori tikanga and reo programmes in prisons and youth justice centres.
  • Iwi and hapu collaboration in prison management.
  • Support models of Maori justice systems and wananga to transmit such knowledge.
  • Increased resources for Family Group Conferences and training for FGC convenors. (more here)

  • Labour will operate a 'nip it in the bud' approach in New Zealand prisons.  Programmes to address issues of mental health, substance abuse, illiteracy, innumeracy and a basic lack of skills amongst inmates will operate in all prisons with the objective of 'rewiring and reprogramming' offender behaviour.  The overarching aim will be to prevent a return to prison and this criterion will replace sentence length as the determinant of whether an inmate is eligible for such programmes.
  • Labour will review standard operating procedures, training, and the use and deployment of protective equipment in prisons to ensure that corrections staff are adequately equipped to deal with adverse situations.
  • Labour will resource transitions from prison that minimise the likelihood of re-offending.
  • Labour will examine the merits of National‟s quick-fix slick political decisions and where they provide no value, reverse them as resources allow.
  • Labour will repeal the Corrections (Contract Management of Prisons) Amendment Act.  No prison will be privatised under Labour, and those institutions which are currently under private management will be returned to public administration as contracts expire. (more here)

Not set out on their website.

  • The Commission itself will conduct investigations, and report to Parliament annually. It is possible that the Anti-Corruption Commission may absorb investigative functions of the State Services Commission; Serious Fraud Office, Judicial Conduct Commissioner and Conduct Panel and the Parliamentary Privileges Select committee.
  • Support whānau-focused alcohol and drug, addiction, recovery and restoration services; including in prisons.
  • Reintroduce preferred lawyer status—legal aid.
  • Review protocols around police use of guns and tasers.
  • Develop a criminal justice strategy with emphasis on a community justice strategy and justice reinvestment.
  • Introduce legislation to ensure that assets maintained by white collar criminals are able to be used to pay outstanding debts to investors.
  • Throw out the three-strikes legislation.
  • Extend Whare Oranga Ake to every prison service.
  • Initiate Computers in Cells to foster literacy and numeracy. (more here)

  • Reverse the burden of proof in bail decisions for those charged with serious class A drug offences, such as manufacturing or dealing P.
  • Reverse the burden of proof in bail decisions for defendants charged with murder.
  • Expand the list of violent and sexual offences that result in a defendant being subject to a reverse burden of proof if they have a prior history of such offending.
  • Make defendants aged 17 to 19 years old subject to the standard (adult) tests for bail if they have previously served a prison sentence. This removes the strong presumption in favour of bail that currently applies.
  • Increase the penalty for failing to answer Police bail to up to three months in prison, on top of the current fine of up to $1,000. (more here)

  • Allow treatment options to be incorporated into sentencing, combined with the use of further sanctions for continued abuse of drugs and other re-offending.
  • Actively promote non-judicial case resolution (mediation or arbitration) for civil cases, making it a compulsory first step prior to court action.
  • Develop the concept of community courts for low-level criminal cases, as advanced by the Law Commission, to put the victim back in control of the process, and seek to bring about mediated resolutions between offender and victim while ensuring that the need for societal condemnation of actions (the punitive element) is factored in.
  • Establish an independent authority to monitor prisons and act as the forum for complaints from inmates to ensure that non-legal avenues for their resolution are exhausted before court action.
  • Ensure that prison inmates undertake employment while inside at ‘normal’ pay rates with deductions for tax, cost of board and keep, restitution to victims, fines, and their own family.
  • Increase the resources available to Environmental and Scientific Research (ESR) to ensure the speedy analysis of evidence.
  • Ensure that offenders are brought before a court within no later than 48 hours of being charged.
  • Ensure that courts are presented with all information relevant to the case, placing more onus on the police to fully disclose all matters, and requiring the accused to give his or her version of events, neither of which are required at present.
  • Introduce stronger penalties for failure to disclose all relevant evidence in civil cases.
  • Monitor the television viewing of prison inmates to ensure that it is non-violent and educational.
  • Ensure that the Community Probation Service is sufficiently staffed to enforce release conditions and enhance public safety.
  • Ensure that there are sufficient secure places in Youth Justice facilities.
  • Ensure that all residents without New Zealand citizenship who are found guilty of a violent offence are deported as soon as possible. (more here)

 

 

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