Far too light a sentence

• David Farrar writes –

Newstalk ZB report:

The man responsible for a horror hit and run in central Wellington last year was on a suspended licence and was so drunk he later asked police, “Did I kill someone?”

Three Strikes saw lower reoffending

• David Farrar writes:

Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017:

In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’.

In the five years prior to three strikes, 5517 people were convicted of an offence where that conviction would have been a ‘first strike’ had three strikes been in force at the time, and 103 were convicted of an offence that would have been a ‘second strike’.

In addition, no-one was convicted of a third strikes in three strikes’ first five years, while four people were convicted of what would have been third strikes in the preceding five years, and two of them also racked up what would have been fourth strikes.

CHRIS TROTTER: Tougher love

Mark Mitchell’s gang laws will separate the liberal sheep from the authoritarian goats

• Chris Trotter writes –

THE INTENSIFYING POLITICAL CONTROVERSY over the Coalition Government’s policy on gangs promises to be one of those sheep-from-goats moments. While the Left will veer instinctively towards the sociological, the Right will opt to (paraphrasing one of the best lines from Pulp Fiction) “get medieval” on the gangs’ collective ass.

Practical questions, such as “Can this policy possibly work?” will crash into angry ideological responses, “Are you saying gangs are above the law?” The sociological “sheep” who believe in a world unconstrained by the fiction of “human nature”, will face the “goats” of realism, who recognise only the necessity of keeping human beings’ potential for chaos and cruelty under strict control.

MICHAEL BASSETT: Child and teenage criminal offending

• Michael Bassett writes – 

Have you noticed what an extraordinary number of children and teenagers have lately been pinching cars, fleeing police, driving the wrong way down motorway exits, and having to be tracked by the Police Eagle helicopter? They are almost always caught. Most seem to be south or west Aucklanders, although Hamilton and Christchurch have had their share. When arrested and charged, we seldom these days find out their names.

Of recent times, name suppression seems to be being used to disguise the fact that all-too-many of the offenders are from our most-favoured racial group to which Jacinda’s and Chippy’s governments awarded special privileges.

Rawiri Waititi is the MP with a gripe about police powers to crack down on guns and gangs (but perhaps there are others)

The headline on a One News report – Police use new powers to hit gangs, but not all MPs happy – alerted the public to political concerns about search powers granted to the police to crack down on gangs.

Actually, it was an RNZ report but One News has republished it, and it kicked off:

Bay of Plenty MPs are split over special powers granted to police to crack down on gangs.

Labour and National at odds over Operation Cobalt and the govt’s policies to bring gang criminals to book

Law and order was raised at Question Time in Parliament yesterday after an exchange of press statements on the issue – and the treatment of gangs – between National MP Mark Mitchell and Police Minister Ginny Andersen.

The Question Time duel was triggered when Mitchell asked if Andersen stood by her statement that she believed New Zealanders “feel safer” – and, if so, why?

The Minister said she stood by her full statement at that time it was given.

It is my view that New Zealanders feel safer with a Government on track to deliver 1,800 extra police. We have now delivered on that commitment.

I further stand by my commitments today that gang members and associates committing burglary, theft, fraud, breaches of bail, reckless driving, driving while disqualified, careless driving, drink driving, or offences under the Search and Surveillance Act, criminal investigations Act, child protection Act, and the sentencing and parole Act are not minor infringements. It’s a shame that that member thinks that they are.

THOMAS CRANMER: New Zealand’s Thin Blue Line

The Parliament Protests and the Posie Parker Rally have exposed the extent to which the Police frontline is under-resourced and under-funded.

• Thomas  Cranmer writes – 

Soaring levels of crime and high profile protests at Parliament and the Posie Parker rally have made policing a political hot topic over the past three years. Following last week’s budget, Police Minister Ginny Andersen announced that the government was nearing its goal of recruiting an additional 1800 frontline officers, as pledged in 2017.

According to Andersen, the new funding will guarantee the maintenance of the current ratio of at least one officer for every 480 New Zealanders. In 2017, the ratio stood at one officer for every 544 individuals.

These headline figures, however, can be misleading. Take, for instance, Auckland City District. By geography, it is the smallest of the 12 national police districts but it has the largest population. The Auckland City District stretches between Herne Bay and Freeman’s Bay to the north, St Heliers to the East, Onehunga in the south and Avondale in the west. It includes Waiheke and Great Barrier Islands.

LINDSAY MITCHELL: Responding to Marama Davidson’s dogma

• Lindsay Mitchell writes:

Green’s co-leader Marama Davidson just keeps digging the hole she is in deeper. First she showed her bitter antipathy towards white CIS (same gender as birth) men. Then she walked it back to all men.

On Tuesday night on TV1 News she said,

“…overwhelmingly it is men who are the biggest threat to women and children when it comes to violence and I needed to make that clarification.”

Marama is the Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence and says she wants us to have these “hard and uncomfortable conversations” (which is reminiscent of what Metiria Turei fatefully wanted when she publicly confessed to ripping off the benefit system.)

But back to Marama. Forget for a moment the offence intended and taken – is her revised statement true?

LINDSAY MITCHELL: NZ’s rarely reported plummeting prison population

LINDSAY MITCHELL writes –

Appalling crime story after appalling crime story gets reported.

But media rarely report on the big decline in New Zealand’s prison population.

There are various possible explanations for the reduction including demographic change, policy changes in police and justice procedures, and/or less imprisonable crime being committed. Government politicians claim less crime is being committed, especially by youth, “according to the statistics”.

Public are disquieted by gang warfare and ram raids – will the Police Minister cop it in a Cabinet reshuffle?

Law  and order  is back as a  key political issue  as  gang  warfare  and ram raids in Auckland  dominate the headlines.

National accusing the Labour government of being “soft” on crime  has  grabbed  the initiative with its  call  for  a  crackdown on gangs  and its proposal to give the  police fresh powers to  deal with them.  As  a  consequence  National has  gained  further  ground as  Labour  slips  in the  polls to  new  lows.

Meanwhile  Police  Minister Poto Williams has  looked  more  and  more  a  weak  link  in the Labour Cabinet, facing calls  by  Opposition parties  for her  to be  sacked. She  could be  top of the  list on the  soon-to-be-announced  Cabinet reshuffle.

Prime Minister Jacinda  Ardern  has  responded by saying the government is  “considering” more action to crack down on violent gang behaviour but has dismissed the idea of a ban on wearing gang patches in public.

There have been almost  nightly shootings and arsons in Auckland and Northland in recent weeks linked to escalating tensions between the Killer Beez and Tribesmen.