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The ACT 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

The ACT Party strongly supports a non-parole policy where repeat violent offenders serve their full prison terms, often called a "life means life" policy

Leader Rodney Hide told the New Zealand Herald in October this year that “no doubt the crime policy - three strikes and you're out” is one of Act’s three most important policies in this campaign. In 2002, Act “welcomed” National’s “life means life” policy and in July 2007 candidate Aaron Keown issued a statement with a list of policies including “Life to mean Life!”. However in this campaign Hide has said National’s non-parole policy doesn’t go far enough. “Mr Hide said this would not actually prevent the most serious crimes, unlike Act's "three strikes" policy, which would see offenders locked up for 25 years after they committed three violent offences,” The New Zealand Herald reported. The paper says the party supports “Truth in sentencing: 10 years means 10 years”.

The ACT Party strongly opposes either outlawing gangs or making membership of gangs an aggravating factor in sentencing

Act is not in favour of outlawing gangs, preferring to toughen enforcement of existing laws. “The move to outlaw gangs, their patches and tattoos is nothing more than a ploy to give the appearance of action - a ploy that will yield no results or benefit to New Zealand society in the long-term struggle to deal with the country's gang problem,” ACT Deputy Leader and National Security Spokesman Heather Roy said in September 2008. "Such moves are wrongly-focussed, token-ist and entirely predictable," Mrs Roy said.

The ACT Party supports paying compensation to victims of crime

The Act party says it supports paying compensation to the victims of crime, but makes no mention of it in policy statements.

The ACT Party is neutral on lowering the age of criminal prosecution from the current age of 14

While Act takes a tough, “zero tolerance” stance on crime it has no policy on lowering the age of criminal prosecution.

The ACT Party strongly supports private sector management of prisons

Act policy is to “bring back private prisons”.