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New Zealand First Party on Crime and Punishment

The United States has the highest incarceration rate as well as the highest number of documented prisoners in the world. As such, how the United States defines crime and the terms of consequence for violations is an immensely important issue. This topic includes information about candidate positions on: the death penalty, hate crimes, drug policy, and mandatory minimum sentencing.

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The issues

New Zealand First Party supports a non-parole policy where repeat violent offenders serve their full prison terms, often called a "life means life" policy

New Zealand First wants to introduce “the principle of ‘three strikes and you’re out’. This will mean that offenders convicted for three crimes for which they have been sentenced to any period of community service, or incarceration in a prison or correction centre, will be required to serve a substantial minimum period in prison”... and it will “increase the use of mandatory minimum sentences for violent offenders with no automatic rights to sentence reduction”... The party’s policy statement adds that “If there is not genuine rehabilitation the offender will serve the full sentence”.

New Zealand First Party strongly supports either outlawing gangs or making membership of gangs an aggravating factor in sentencing

New Zealand First policy is to “introduce legislation to ban all criminal gangs”. Further, it would “develop the Organised Crime Agency under the auspices of the police to crack down on organised crime, particularly gangs, and on crimes such as drug trafficking, fraud, and money laundering”.

New Zealand First Party opposes paying compensation to victims of crime

The only related policy from New Zealand First promises to ensure that victim support groups get “adequate funding” and that courts will be required to give priority to reparations over fines.

New Zealand First Party supports lowering the age of criminal prosecution from the current age of 14

New Zealand First will “retain Family Group Conferences (FGC) for those who choose to offend under the age of 12 years but even then, any offender under the age of 12 years will be entitled to be dealt with under this provision only three times and should they choose to offend again, will be dealt with by the adult criminal courts”.

New Zealand First Party supports private sector management of prisons

New Zealand First has no specific policy on private sector management of prisons, but is opposed to state asset sales across the board.