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Submissions

NZ Parliament Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes Amendment) Bill

Posted in Submission, Government; Tagged Justice, Corrections; Posted 7 months ago by DPA Less than a minute to read

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To: Justice Select Committee
Date: July 2024

 

Purpose

The submission’s primary aim is to express strong opposition to the proposed legislation.

DPA's core purpose is to highlight how this Bill will exacerbate the already significant overrepresentation of disabled people within New Zealand's prison population. The submission argues that the Bill's punitive measures fail to address the complex systemic factors contributing to offending among disabled individuals, such as historical abuse, poverty, and lack of accessible support services. Ultimately, DPA calls for the withdrawal of the Bill, advocating instead for a justice system focused on restorative practices and effective rehabilitation.

Summary of DPA submission


DPA unequivocally opposes the Sentencing (Reinstatement of Three Strikes) Amendment Bill 2024 and urges its complete withdrawal. DPA's stance is based on the significant concern that the Bill's proposed changes—including longer sentences, reduced judicial discretion, and increased use of cumulative sentencing—will lead to more disabled people being imprisoned for longer durations. The organisation cites the Turuki! Turuki! Safe and Effective Justice Advisory Group Report (2018), among others, to highlight that disabled individuals already constitute a disproportionately large segment of the prison population. DPA views the Bill as a regressive measure that neglects the underlying causes of offending and will undermine efforts towards genuine rehabilitation.

DPA stresses that individuals with a wide spectrum of impairments, including learning disabilities, psychosocial impairments, autism, neurodiversity, and those who are Deaf or hard of hearing, are significantly overrepresented within the justice and prison systems. Critically, some individuals also acquire impairments during their incarceration. The submission draws a direct correlation between the experiences of abuse in state care and later involvement in the criminal justice system, referencing findings from the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care, which noted that many survivors, including disabled tamariki, were recruited into gangs due to the harm they experienced. DPA argues that this Bill does not address these profound cycles of trauma and disadvantage.

The submission further highlights the severe intersectional inequities faced by tāngata whaikaha Māori disabled people. It points out that over half (50.9%) of Māori in prison identify as tāngata whaikaha disabled Māori. DPA asserts that these disparities are a direct consequence of the long-term impacts of colonisation, and that the Bill's retributive policies will only exacerbate these existing injustices, rather than addressing the systemic issues that lead to offending, such as poverty, lack of accessible support, and poorer health and educational outcomes. Moreover, while acknowledging that disabled people are at a higher risk of being victims of violence and crime, DPA contends that imposing longer sentences on offenders will not effectively break the cycles of violence impacting society.

Instead of the Bill's punitive approach, DPA implicitly advocates for a more restorative-based justice system, aligning with the recommendations of the Turuki! Turuki! Report. This alternative approach would focus on healing and rehabilitation for both victims/survivors and offenders, recognising that for many, choices are severely limited by adverse circumstances and systemic barriers to inclusion, education, training, or employment. DPA believes that effective rehabilitation and integration into society are significantly hindered when individuals face a system that has historically failed or rejected them.

Therefore, the organisation concludes that the Sentencing (Reinstatement of Three Strikes) Amendment Bill 2024 is a detrimental policy that will only compound existing problems within the justice system.

 

Key Recommendation:

DPA recommends that the Sentencing (Reinstatement of Three Strikes) Amendment Bill 2024 be withdrawn.

 

Supporting Statement 1:

The Bill's reintroduction of "three strikes" measures will inevitably lead to disproportionately longer imprisonment terms for disabled people, worsening their already significant overrepresentation in New Zealand's prisons.

 

Supporting Statement 2:

The punitive focus of the legislation fails to address the deep-seated, systemic issues contributing to offending, such as historical abuse in state care, widespread poverty, and a lack of accessible support, education, and employment opportunities, which severely impact disabled individuals and disproportionately affect tangata whaikaha Māori disabled people.

 
 

 

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DPA Submission 2407 NZ Parliament Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes Amendment) Bill (DOCX)

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