From our Leader of September 15, 2024 Digital Edition
Venkat Raman
Auckland, September 17, 2024
As this issue was being prepared for publication, news came to hand that violent crime in the Auckland Central Business District had declined by 22% from January to July this year.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon attributed the desirable trend to a new Scheme that encouraged the Police, the Social Development Minister, Kainga Ora, Auckland Council and other stakeholders and services to work together towards the national objective.
Attributing the declining rate to tougher sentences, Mr Luxon said that the Police have been given more powers to crack down on gangs and address serious young offenders.
Police Minister Mark Mitchell said that the system of providing discounts in sentencing has not been useful.
Changes to Sentencing
“Auckland is turning a corner and we are increasing the number of cops on the beat, Our government is taking action to hold offenders accountable through tougher sentences. Victims and the public lose faith in the justice system when criminals receive hefty discounts to their sentences that do not reflect the harm caused,” he said.
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith announced further changes to the sentencing regime.
According to him, there has been a concerning trend in recent years with courts imposing fewer and shorter prison sentences despite a 33% increase in violent crime.
“Public confidence in the ability of our sentencing system to deter and denounce offending has diminished. These changes will help ensure there are 20,000 fewer victims of violent crime by 2029, alongside reducing serious repeat youth offending by 15%.
The next quarterly progress report is due by the end of the year but the government has already announced several measures to bring down offending.
These include (1) Capping the sentence discounts that judges can apply at 40% when considering mitigating factors unless it would result in manifestly unjust sentencing outcomes (2) Preventing repeat discounts for youth and remorse. Lenient sentences fail to deter offenders who continue to rely on their youth or expressions of remorse without making serious efforts to reform their behaviour (3) Responding to serious retail crime by introducing a new aggravating factor to address offences against sole charge workers and those whose home and business are interconnected, as committed under the National-Act Coalition Agreement (4) Encouraging the use of cumulative sentencing for offences committed while on bail, in custody, or on parole to denounce behaviour that indicates a disregard for the criminal justice system (5) Implementing a sliding scale for early guilty pleas with a maximum sentence discount of 25%, reducing to a maximum of 5% for a guilty plea entered during the trial.
Ministerial Group disappoints
This will prevent undue discounts for late-stage guilty pleas and avoid unnecessary trials that are costly and stressful for victims. Amending the principles of sentencing to include the requirement to take into account any information provided to the court about victims’ interests, as committed to in both coalition agreements.
But these proposals did not wash with Labour, the main Opposition Party.
The Party’s Justice Spokesman Duncan Webb said that National’s campaign was about tackling crime and scoffed at the Ministerial Advisory Group (MAG).
The government announced the establishment of the MAG on July 11, 2024, with Mr Goldsmith saying that it will engage directly with victims, workers, business owners, retail experts and advocacy groups “to provide the government with specific proposals to address urgent challenges to crime.”
The Minister appointed the Chair of the Dairy and Business Owners Group and Prevention of Crime Prevention Group as the Chairman of the MAG.
The MSG has been set up to provide ‘urgent advice’ in ‘two years.’ In reality, the Group may continue for five years.
A lacklustre Group
“This Group will help ensure that there are 20,000 fewer victims of violent crime by 2029 and reduce serious youth offending by 15%. The Group will have a budget of $1.8 million per year,” Mr Goldsmith said and indicated that its tenure may be at least until 2029.
The country’s taxpayers would have forked out $9 million in five years on a problem which already seems to have been solved with the measures announced by Mr Goldsmith this week.
Many retailers say that everyone knows the problems and the solutions and that a Ministerial Group is unnecessary.
Besides, with the government announcing several legislative changes and measures to reduce crime, and further reforms expected to be introduced to Parliament, the MAG has already become redundant.
Besides, the Group seems to be less energetic than envisaged. So far, it has neither held any meetings nor announced the selection of its members.
“A Ministerial Advisory Group is not an urgent solution to an urgent problem. That $3.6 million could be spent right now on crime prevention, supporting victims, rehabilitation and stopping reoffending. Just saying that you will be tough on crime does not stop crime. We need evidence-based solutions that work. Therefore, it is time to stop playing politics and start working together to build a safer community,” Mr Webb said.
Indian retailers have also expressed their disappointment.
We are sure that the government will balance the benefits of continuing with the MAG and engage in discussions with stakeholders in each area. That would accrue the desired results and be more cost-effective.
