April 22, 2014
ACT burglary policy shows bungled research
Rethinking Crime and Punishment wants the new ACT boss to do his homework before coming up with more "tough on crime" sentencing policies for which there is no evidence of success.
Jamie Whyte yesterday called for a three strike policy, in which burglars convicted for the third time will spend three years in prison without parole.
Rethinking director Kim Workman says ACT needs to come up with policies that actually reduce crime and imprisonment levels.
He says it in the United States some states are now revoking three strikes laws and mandatory sentencing because they don't work.
They are re-investing the money in programmes that decrease crime and improve public safety such as community-based treatment, probation, and prevention-oriented policing strategies.
New Zealand already imprisons 40 percent of those who appear before the court on burglary charges, and they serve an average of 15 months in prison, compared to 5 months in Canada and 7 months in the UK.
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