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June 27, 2023
National prison boost policy uncosted and fact free
Peter Verschaffelt
Posted On June 27, 2023
Download AudioCorrections Minister Kelvin Davis says the law and order election strategy unveiled by National at its conference on the weekend takes liberties with facts and finances.
He says National Party leader Chris Luxon is promising a return to the mass-incarcerations policies of the previous National-led Government, which created a range of problems Labour has tried to fix by addressing some of the factors behind the crime.
There are now fewer people in prison but the average sentence is now three months longer than under National.
Mr Davis says it’s another uncosted policy from National.
“It’s going to cost hundreds and hundreds of millions to incarcerate the people they say they’re going to target. I think they’re talking about two or three thousand more people they want to imprison. They’re going to have to build more American-style mega-prisons. None of that is costed. They’re not saying where that money is coming from. It’s just another recipe for disaster,” he says.
Mr Davis says crime has been tracking down for 20 years, apart from an increase in family violence convictions as a result of the tougher stance being taken by Labour and the Greens.
While the high visibility of ram raid means people think they are happening everywhere, they make up for just 0.38 percent, or less than half of 1 percent of crime.
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