April 14, 2008...6:42 am
Why not just put inmates on the chain gang and be done with it?
National’s “justice” spokesman Simon Power continues his sad campaign of pandering to the insensible sentencing mob by complaining that some minimum security prisoners are allowed to putt golf balls into tin cans on a strip of grass, and even play petanque on it. They should be doing hard physical labour such as cutting down trees with chainsaws, I heard him arguing on the 6am news.
I am surprised he is not advocating the creation of chain gangs of prisoners working on the roads, as some southern American states shamefully have. Maybe I missed it.
Thanks to some of the harshest sentencing laws in the world (for which former Labour “justice” minister Phil Goff is responsible), we already have proportionally more people in our grossly overcrowded jails for longer periods than almost every other country. Our prisons are terrible places, with many inmates caged in facilities that would outrage most people if animals were kept in them. Many prisoners are locked up for most of the time, with nothing to do. They should at least be allowed to engage in some non-punitive relaxation.
One of the marks of a decent society is how it treats its most despised members. Prisoners are in jail because they have offended against society, sometimes monstrously. They should still be treated as human beings.
9 Comments
April 14, 2008 at 7:19 am
There are two seperate issues here work and play, plenty of both is healthy, and when these people return to society we need them to have healthy social attitudes. So I’d prefer both the putting green and the “chain gang”, what’s wrong with digging ditches when it’s productive work?
April 14, 2008 at 8:39 am
I don’t think Power can back chain gangs – that would be stealing policies from ACT.
Oh wait, they’ve already taken ACT’s corrections spokesperson and chain gang enthusiast
Anita
April 14, 2008 at 10:01 am
Well said Poneke! One of the worst aspects of an election year is that politicians feel they have to start a bidding war, to show how tough they are on crime and criminals.
Personally, I’m fed up with the unnecessary amounts of money we are spending on policies that real experts (such as Greg Newbold) tell us just do not work.
Crimes require punishment, but is there any special reason why the proportion of prisoners to population in NZ is second highest in the Western world - behind the USA, but significantly higher than almost everywhere else?
The Insensible sentencing lobby have too much “Power” - Simon or otherwise. They will NEVER be happy, until “throwing away the key” becomes law. They would have more credibility if they showed some concern about reducing crime.
April 14, 2008 at 10:10 am
I think it all depends on what’s the primary focus of the justice system, is it punishment or rehabilitation? I, personally, would rather that those people who have broken the law and hurt people come out of prison better people who are less likely to hurt again.
We can’t undo the crime that’s been done, but we could try to stop it happening again. Sure rehabilitation is imperfect and there are some people who are incapable of reform, hence I think preventative detention has a place, but we need an enlightened justice system that looks to long term rehabilitative goals.
April 14, 2008 at 10:39 am
With regards to rehabilitation, there is a brilliant pilot scheme working in Hamilton. It’s been in operation for one year now, with two more to go, but I hope it gets extended permanently.
It’s called Te Hurihanga. It caters for youth, primarily for kids up to the age of 16, who have offended, but not for serious crimes. Has a lot of emphasis on working with the kids positively, and interestingly places a lot of emphasis on (a) support for the kid while in the first residential component of the programme, (b) support for and with the kid when he reintegrates into the community (school or job) and (c) working with the family while the kid is away, and also when he returns to the family.
The programme had a terrible start, with neighbours concerns, (Hillcrest Action Group)largely based on a misinformation campaign of “rapists” living next door etc etc, and the Waikato Times feeding off those concerns. It has, however, also attracted a strong Support group of local residents (Te Hurihanga Support Group).
Initial indications are that the programme is, and will be a success. It will be worth following over the coming years. Something positive, and completely different in New Zealand.
April 14, 2008 at 12:03 pm
In answer to your question, because annoying people like yourself kick up a stink about ;-P
April 14, 2008 at 12:10 pm
I definitely believe that we need to work with people in the justice system as members of a family/whanau and work with that unit, rather than focusing on the individual, separate from those relationships. I also think that’s true of victim support, it’s best to also involve the family of the person who has been hurt.
I think that offenders need to maintain and strengthen positive whanau relationships throughout their sentence. I also think that we need to promote certain values in society more than we are now, with a focus on community and family responsibility rather than on individuality.
I heard Dr Pita Sharples on the “Best of Breakfast” on TVNZ 7 this morning, and I really agreed with what he had to say.
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/video_popup_windows_skin/1708421
April 16, 2008 at 8:03 pm
I think hard labour would be good for most prisoners. I would hazard a bet that most have never done a real hard day, let alone week or month of labour in their lives. It might teach them something.
April 17, 2008 at 7:11 am
I couldn’t agree less. Possibly there is some hope that when they leave prison they won’t re-offend, but many do. We just breath a sign of relief when they are locked up and dread them returning.
Prisoners should have to work to help pay for their keep, and compensation for their victims, and for some spending money. It should be a hard life which they look forward to getting away from and don’t want to go back to.
If our jails are overcrowded then we should build some more, rather than letting these people roam around ruining our lives. We can build houses so why are prison so hard? I’m going to have to blog on this to get it out of my system.
http://savethehumans.typepad.com
[Poneke says : Prisons are only hard to build because Nimbys object strenuously to their construction, which delays them for years. Despite this, they are being built as fast as Corrections can manage.]
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