corrections Archive

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  Corrections fail to correct, justice perpetuates crime - by David Clendon

  
  
  
  Two reminders today that this (and  previous) governments’ punitive approach to crime and punishment is failing dismally, at enormous economic and social cost, and it needs to change. The Herald highlights the massive cost of building new prisons, with the proposed Wiri project having cost us over $20 million before construction even begins.  The prison [...] read more
  September 13, 2011 10:01 am - 12 Comments
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  Justice Reinvestment – the high cost of prison - by David Clendon

  
  
  
  I took an opportunity yesterday to speak in the Appropriations debate on the ‘moral and fiscal failure’ that is our prison system.  Vote Corrections for 2011/2012 is set at a little over $1.1 billion, about two and a half times what it was a decade ago. That is an enormous amount of money to spend [...] read more
  August 10, 2011 9:18 am - 29 Comments
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  Never mind the facts, give us an opinion! - by David Clendon

  
  
  
  It seems the Far-From-Sensible Sentencing Trust is getting set to launch into another round of tub-thumping about how we are all too soft on crime; let’s lock ‘em up and throw away the key before we’re all murdered in our beds; it’s a jungle out there; etc, etc. Apparently they commissioned some research in May “…on [...] read more
  July 13, 2011 9:18 am - 7 Comments
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  ‘Rethinking’ – solutions to mass imprisonment. - by David Clendon

  
  
  
  Last night I spent Parliament’s dinner break at the launch of a new website, an initiative of the Robson Hanan Trust led by Kim Workman. To quote from the introduction on the site: “Rethinking Crime and Punishment” is a strategic initiative to increase public debate about the use of prison and alternative forms of punishment in [...] read more
  November 10, 2010 5:41 pm - 42 Comments
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  Even more outstanding evidence slamming ‘Three Strikes’ law - by David Clendon

  
  
  
  The Californian State auditor has released a very frank, and frankly chilling, assessment of the consequences of that State’s ‘3 strikes’ legislation.  The prison population in California now numbers close to 177,000. The ‘highlights’ of the report tell us that : Inmates incarcerated under the three strikes law (striker inmates): Make up 25 percent of [...] read more
  May 20, 2010 10:31 am - 30 Comments
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  Police to Pass Sentence? - by David Clendon

  
  
  
  The already murky plot around the NACT government’s ill-conceived Three Strikes sentencing bill continues to thicken. There was a very interesting but also disturbing exchange in question time on Thursday between Clayton Cosgrove and the Justice Minister Simon Power. The Sentencing and Parole Reform Bill (aka the 3 strikes bill) is before the Law and [...] read more
  February 20, 2010 10:00 am - 10 Comments
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  What will stopping prisoners voting achieve? - by David Clendon

  
  
  
  On Wednesday, Paul Quinn’s Electoral (Disqualification of Convicted Prisoners) Amendment Bill was pulled from the member’s bill ballot. read more
  February 12, 2010 11:43 am - 18 Comments
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  Crates, cubicles and containers - by David Clendon

  
  
  
  Aotearoa / New Zealand, the country where some would have us think that it is okay to keep pigs locked up in crates, cows locked up in cubicles, and human beings locked up in glorified shipping containers. read more
  February 4, 2010 4:19 pm - 31 Comments
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  Private prisons are not cheaper - by Metiria Turei

  
  
  
  Last night the parliament debated the first reading of the Corrections (Contract Management of Prisons) Bil. I have blogged about this issue frequently, but not yet addressed the key argument of National – that private prisons are cheaper. So I used my speech last night to refer to both Australian and US research that showed [...] read more
  March 25, 2009 6:40 pm - 64 Comments
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  GEO Group record in private prisons – very very bad - by Metiria Turei

  
  
  
  One of the companies that is apparently in discussions with National to run a private prison is The GEO Group Inc. They ran the Auckland Central Remand Prison when it was privatised. John Key is reported as saying that they produced “very good results”. The GEO Group, Inc. is part of the The Wackenhut Corporation, [...] read more
  March 12, 2009 11:08 am - 27 Comments