Submissions

To: Justice Select Committee
Date: October 2024

Purpose

This submission opposes this legislation on the basis that it will disproportionately impact disabled people, who, according to multiple reports including the Turuki! Turuki! Safe and Effective Justice Advisory Group Report (2018), already comprise a significant part of the prison population. DPA argues that longer sentences, decreased judicial discretion for sentencing discounts, and greater encouragement for cumulative sentencing are likely to result in more disabled people being imprisoned for longer.

Summary of DPA submission

DPA notes that people with a wide range of impairments, including learning disabilities and a considerable number of Tāngata Whaikaha disabled Māori prisoners are incarcerated within our prison system.

DPA acknowledges that disabled people are disproportionately at higher risk of being victims of violence and crime compared to non-disabled New Zealanders. However, DPA contends that placing more individuals, including disabled people (who already disproportionately experience higher rates of abuse and violence) into the corrections system for longer is not the best way to address criminal offending.

Key Recommendation:

The Bill be withdrawn.

Supporting Statement 1:

Disabled people are already disproportionately overrepresented in the prison population, and DPA believes these historical inequities will be exacerbated by retributive law and order policies that do not address the roots of offending.