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Download AudioA senior Māori lawyer is sounding the alarm the Government’s tough on crime policies are causing prison numbers to blow out.
New figures show 42 percent of inmates in male prisons are on remand, up from 19 percent in 2013, and could overtake sentenced prisoners by 2032.
Barrister Quentin Duff of Ngāi Rangi, Te Arawa and Raukawa has led the defence in more than 100 jury trials over 40 years,
He says the lock them up attitude towards punishment is creating major problems for the system and the people in it.
“Do we want out of sight, out of mind? Do we simply want to lock people up or do we want to look at alternatives? I don’t think we want to simply build super-prisons and incarcerate more people. We know statistically that ends up coming down hardet on Indigenous people. This is about our attitude to punishment – what does puishment look like and does that necessarily include prison?” Mr Duff says.
He says many people are remanded to prison because they can’t supply a bail address, and iwi and hapu groups may want to consider ways to fill that gap.
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