You had to be listening hard through the word soup to hear that the Prime Minister believes that you don’t need a target to reduce violent crime, all you have to do is reduce the prison population.
Hon Judith Collins: Why does the Government have a target to reduce prison populations by 30 percent, not a target to reduce violent crime?
Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Because as the member will know, having worked across Corrections, if you are seeking to reduce the prison population, that’s often the equivalent of reducing recidivism. Many people in our prison population are circulating back through. So if you focus on rehabilitation programmes that make a difference; if you focus on having, as prisoners exit, work to ensure that they are in employment and those things which prevent reoffending, then you ultimately also reduce victimisation.
Hansard
Who knew, that if you empty the prisons then violent crime magically reduces?
The Prime Minister has it arse about face. You reduce recidivism, then you see a reduction in the prison population. It’s not about letting them out.
Her additional answer presumes that the government is ensuring that there are adequate rehabilitation programmes, work for exiting prisoners, and “those things which prevent reoffending”, whatever those things may be. I suspect that none of those things are actually occurring so she will be genuinely surprised when violent crime statistics skyrocket. Firearms offences certainly are.
Yet again, this demonstrates the airy-fairy, soft-on-crime attitude of this government. They are all about hugs and feels rather than meaningful crime reduction.
Labour has always been the party of the criminals. Now they are just locking in that vote.
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