The Government will introduce new sentencing reforms to Parliament this week aimed at ensuring criminals face tougher penalties and victims are prioritised, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said today.
“In recent years, there has been a concerning trend where the courts have imposed fewer and shorter prison sentences despite a 33 per cent increase in violent crime,” Goldsmith said.
“Public confidence in the ability of our sentencing system to deter and denounce offending has diminished.”
The new reforms, Goldsmith said, are designed to address this imbalance and reduce crime. “These changes will help ensure there are 20,000 fewer victims of violent crime by 2029, alongside reducing serious repeat youth offending by 15 per cent.”
The reforms include a range of measures designed to strengthen the criminal justice system:
– Judges will be limited to applying a maximum 40 per cent sentence discount for mitigating factors unless it would result in manifestly unjust sentencing.
– Repeat discounts for youth and expressions of remorse will be restricted, addressing concerns that lenient sentences fail to deter repeat offenders who continue to rely on these factors without making meaningful efforts to reform.
– A new aggravating factor will be introduced to address serious retail crime, targeting offences against sole charge workers and those whose home and business are interconnected.
– Cumulative sentencing will be encouraged for offences committed while on bail, in custody, or on parole, reflecting a disregard for the criminal justice system.
– A sliding scale for early guilty pleas will be implemented, with a maximum discount of 25 per cent for early pleas, reducing to 5 per cent for pleas entered during trial. This aims to reduce unnecessary trials and ease the burden on victims.
– Courts will be required to take into account information provided about victims’ interests when sentencing.
Goldsmith also said the Government has confirmed two additional aggravating factors to be included in the legislation. These new provisions will target adults who exploit children and young people by encouraging them to offend, and offenders who glorify their criminal activities by livestreaming or posting them online.
“These provisions have been transferred from the Ram Raids Bill that is currently before the select committee so that amendments to the Sentencing Act can be considered together as a coherent package,” Goldsmith said. “These changes send a clear message that social media cannot be a tool to glorify or celebrate the actions of callous individuals, and nor should adults exploit children and young people in the commission of crimes.”
Goldsmith said these reforms are essential for ensuring communities and law-abiding New Zealanders are protected from offenders who display a “flagrant disregard for the law.”
“Communities and hardworking Kiwis should not be made to live and work in fear of these offenders,” he said.
