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Sensible Sentencing Trust
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I recently attended the Rudi Giuliani function in Auckland. Mr Giuliani is the retired mayor of New York and a hero of the September 11 outrage. Under his leadership that city has reduced its' violent crime figures to 1890 levels and they are still dropping. This meant that they are now closing prisons and lowering taxes as businesses are attracted to the safe environment of a safer city.
The "Broken Windows" crime-fighting policy used by the New York police Department was pretty basic stuff, by cracking down on the petty criminals it was soon discovered that crime in all categories was reduced. Mr Giuliani believes the real victims of crime are you and I. As society standards decline - you and I pay. The basic philosophy is "Society expects a certain standard of behaviour from all our members, all the time".
The recent killing of Coral Burrows brought memories of Teresa Cormack back for many of us. There are many similarities. Mikus, who murdered Teresa, had 70 convictions. Steven Williams, who is accused of little Coral's murder, had 93 previous convictions. All very well now for certain politicians to wring their hands with patronising vote-catching agony. The simple facts of the matter are, if the Government had listened to the people, repeat criminals like Steven Williams would not be on the streets.
Past and present government "Soft Option Politically Correct" policies have encouraged the breakdown of the family unit, increased poverty and unemployment, along with rampant drug and alcohol abuse. These policies have created the perfect breeding ground for what we are now experiencing - individuals whose horrendously violent crimes simply reflect the lives they live.
The Sensible Sentencing Trust believes that the ultimate responsibility for any child lies with the two people that created that child. There can be no substitute for the mother and father.
On July 22 we took families of murder victims to the Beehive and presented a "Wish List" of legislation changes we require. A number of the parties in Parliament have pledged their support for most if not all of these points. (See Victims Request List).
Eariy next year the Sensible Sentencing Trust will once again be in Parliament, supporting Debra Coddington's "Sex Offenders Bill". We will continue to take every opportunity to push legislation that promotes individual accountability and responsibility.
Sitting at the back of the farm on a sunny morning it would be easy for one to say "to hell with it all", but I love this country. My wife and I have four children living here, we have just been presented with two beautiful granddaughters, what better reason to continue fighting to make New Zealand a better place to live? - Garth.
"THE ONLY THING NECESSARY FOR EVIL TO PREVAIL IS FOR GOOD MEN AND WOMEN TO DO NOTHING"
National Office : PO Box 701 NAPIER Phone (06) 835 5521 Fax (06) 835 5520 National Chairman : Garth McVicar (025) 248 7919
On July 22 the Sensible Sentencing Trust along with the families of 12 murder victims presented a "wish list" to the Minister of Justice and Members of Parliament for urgent action. The following is the abridged version of seven of the 12 submissions that were presented to Parliament.
Premeditated or aggravated murder Urgent legislation to ensure that premeditated murder receives "life without parole" - "life" to mean whole of natural life.
Cumulative sentences With existing concurrent sentences offenders are effectively receiving "bulk discounts" for multiple offences thus encouraging repeat offending....Where is the accountability?...
Legal aid - introduction of sliding scale Lawyers prolong proceedings, appeal without merit and discourage their clients from being held accountable.
Youth offending Age of criminal responsibility to be removed.
Parole for all violent offenders to be abolished.
DNA - all offenders to give DNA samples Database to identify and deter repeat offending.
Sex Offenders Urgency be given to establishing a register of all sex offenders that becomes available to the public.
While some parties have pledged their support we will return early next year for a progress report.
See the full submission here : Victims Request List
AS PROMISED KELLY PIGGOTT HAS WRITTEN AN ARTICLE ON DNA
When Teresa died, we waited a long time for technology to lead us to the identity of her killer. The DNA evidence cleared many people from the suspect list before a match was made. Its use as proof of innocence equals its ability to prove guilt. "Sixty million to one" was the figure of probability. An indisputable finding especially when we look at how many men were in the country at the time, let alone Napier.
Thanks to DNA profiling, the murderer of my little girl is behind bars. I know how important a DNA data bank and compulsory DNA samples will be in the battle to reduce our crime rate. It would have been a crime to waste this technological progress. It is thanks to people like you, reading this newsletter; the Sensible Sentencing Trust has a voice, your voice.
Your support and experiences give Garth and all involved, the heart and motivation to keep trying to make a difference. We all care about our country, its people and families. We will push for a safer future of our loved ones. I am very proud to be involved with people who have such faith, passion, and integrity. We, the ordinary citizens of New Zealand have a voice and are making progress in a positive direction. Thank you all for your compassion and support. (Abridged). - Kelly Piggott
In being asked to contribute to the Sensible Sentencing Trust publication, I reflected on the changes which have come about since the mid-1990s when the Friends and Families of Murder Victims based in Otago first brought the issue of victims' rights to the fore. Since that time the most significant event has been the instigation of minimum non-parole periods for murder. Clearly this has given judges the ability to differentiate the aggravating features of murders. An inevitable and perhaps unforeseen consequence of this is that it can also be seen as putting different value on the lives of the victims. At the end of the day someone killed by what the court considers a normal act of murder and someone slain in a murder which has earned a 33-year non-parole period, is still a victim of murder and leaves behind grieving family and friends.
The only way to avoid this is to implement a "life means life" policy whereby someone given life imprisonment, minimum parole or not, spends their whole life in prison. This is the situation that exists in some overseas jurisdictions most notably Texas and California. There have been downsides to this policy. For example, in Texas one of the growth industries is geriatric prisons. Prisons which have become unmanageable because those administering the prisons have no ability to control inmates through withholding of parole.
In Texas there is an increasing political movement to bring some more commonsense to the sentencing regime which will allow individual circumstances to be taken into account when determining length of sentence. It is interesting that the Sensible Sentencing movement in Texas is about giving Judges more flexibility so that the situation where an incompetent, feeble-minded 70-year-old sentenced for a bar room brawl killing in 1958 is not kept in prison at a cost of $100,000 a year to the State when they can be kept in a nursing home for $15,000 a year. For this reason I think the name given to the Sensible Sentencing Trust movement is a very apt one. What is being demanded is a sensible approach to be taken to sentencing of murderers in particular. For example a person who is convicted of murder in a drunken bar brawl and is forgiven by the victim's family may perhaps need to be considered differently from a clearly recidivist predatory paedophile who should never be released while they present any threat to others in society.
Certainly no-one should be released while they still do present such a threat. The reality is that there will always be murders and there will always be new victims. Even in States where the death penalty is the ultimate sanction, horrific murders still take place. I believe that prescriptive sentencing which allows no account for the circumstances of each crime, victim, and even offender, should be avoided as ultimately the next generation will have to deal with the consequences of these decisions.
The work of the Sensible Sentencing Trust has been and continues to be very effective in keeping politicians and judges looking over their shoulders and considering the consequences of weak and inappropriate sentencing. However, always believing that every sentence is inadequate could ultimately render the voice of organisations like the Sensible Sentencing Trust irrelevant if there is no threshold agreed that sentencing was or ever is adequate.
I believe that keeping Judges honest and accountable for their decisions while at the same time giving them the flexibility to exercise sensible discretion is the ideal. I believe the actions of the Sensible Sentencing Trust and other victims' rights groups have gone a long way to making that a reality. Much work still needs to be done, particularly in the less serious offending area of burglaries and assaults where professional criminals are still able to manipulate the system. I encourage the Sensible Sentencing Trust to focus in this area to ensure that the very good work being done by Police currently to catch burglars is not undone by inadequate sentencing. That sentencing may not necessarily be longer but it may mean more frequent use of shorter sentences earlier in a criminal career than waiting until they have victimised large numbers of people before they go to jail at all.
- Greg O'Connor, President NZ Police Association
On September 17, Sensible Sentencing Trust submitted to the Parliamentary Law and Order Committee our submission supporting the Sex Offenders Registry Bill. We have been asked to appear before the select committee early next year.
Police Minister George Hawkins :
"Police meeting targets"
In the short time of the Trust's existence we have had contact with many victims of sexual attacks, the majority of these have been by offenders who have been convicted of previous offences and have been dealt with through our ridiculous system of family group conferences and the like. Having not been held accountable or responsible for earlier and less serious crimes these sexual predators continue their criminal career until we are dealing with a hardened repeat sex offender.
The purpose of the Bill is to establish a registry of persons who have been convicted of serious sexual offences, and to include mechanisms to keep the registry up to date, in order that the police have reliable information available to them at all times on the whereabouts of sex offenders.
Write to the Law and Order Committee or your local MP supporting the Sex Offender register. Our full submission is here, following is the abridged submission : SST sees it essential to have the following details recorded in the registry:
We believe that this bill should be broad enough to catch all past, present and future sexual predators. You can write to the Law and Order Committee :
C/- Tracey Rayner, Law and Order Secretariat, Bowen House, Parliament Buildings, WELLINGTON
73-year-old raped - Neighbours were horrified and
outraged that a frail elderly woman was raped in her
central New Plymouth home at the weekend. Police said the
73-year-old woman awoke at 5 AM to find an intruder in her
bedroom and was raped. The woman, who had only moved into
the unit three months ago, lived on her own. She needed a
walking stick to get around.
(HB Today, 19/5/2003)
Some of you may remember a news story last year about a father speaking out regarding the justice system in relation to youth offenders. In particular five youths who admitted raping three girls, the youngest was only six - my daughter. The other girls were nine and thirteen. The nine-year-old is the sister to two of the offenders.
My wife and I would like to thank Sensible Sentencing Trust for their support during this difficult time. We approached SST as we were frustrated and felt totally let down by the justice system, as nothing appeared to be happening regarding our case. We asked two SST representatives and two friends to support us when we attended the Family Group Conference (FGC). They were told they were not allowed to speak by the FGC facilitator or have any input on our behalf. One of the offender's lawyers even tried to have the SST representatives removed from the conference. Yet the five offenders all had their families, social workers, counsellors, and lawyers etc, about 40 people in total. We faced all this on the same day at the same time.
The FGC was by far the hardest thing I have ever had to go through. I had to work very hard to hold back the emotion I was feeling. I wanted to show these boys, no, tell these boys just how we felt and also tell them about the three most important things they had taken from our little girl : Her innocence - her purity - her childhood. I did ask permission from the boy's families to inform the press guaranteeing anonymity, as they wanted to follow the story through regarding the outcome of the FGC. But police and CYPS were very quick to intervene and told me that it was not possible because of the boy's ages and the law relating to youth offenders.
I'm sure that SST will agree that FGCs may work for misdemeanour type offences e.g. breaking a window or stealing low value items when financial reparation can be recovered. But for more serious crimes then some form of incarceration must be imposed.
If these boys were a couple of years older they would have been arrested and held in jail awaiting trial. Instead they were charged and sent home and allowed to wander the neighbourhood as they pleased, at times abusing and threatening my daughter for speaking out. The outcome of the FCC was that the boys were to give my family a wide berth, they were not allowed at our end of the street and they had to undergo a STOP programme for 12 to 18 months. Apparently the best thing since sliced bread, although we are unable to obtain information on it.
The only request we made was to receive a six-monthly report on the boys' progress through this programme. So privacy rights weren't broken, the boys had to give their consent. One of the boys refused on the advice of his lawyer. A year later we are still waiting to receive any information on any of the boys' progress.
There are some very positive changes beginning to happen around the country, I would like to highlight some of these -
Manakau : We have congratulated Manakau police for their boldness in introducing a "Three strikes and you are out" policy for young criminals. We understand that the police are warning parents the first and second time a youth comes to their attention but on the third they are actually charging the parents. Will the courts have the same courage and actually hold the parents accountable and responsible?
Hastings : Hastings police are trialling a similar policy with kids caught wagging school. The parents will be warned if their child does not attend school, on the third offence the parent or care giver will be charged. Once again will the courts support this initiative?
Napier : The Youth Aid section of Napier Police are having great results in reducing offending by young people, offenders have to do their "duties" wearing bright coloured vests so that they are easily identifiable. Holding these kids accountable and responsible for their crimes seems to work in Napier. (See article by Angus Dellow in sidebar above).
Gisborne : The Gisborne City Council and police are operating a Zero Tolerance to crime policy. The mayor of Gisborne has stood up to the over-zealous civil liberties groups and in conjunction with the police are getting tough on even the smallest of crimes. If you are caught for even the smallest misdemeanour such as littering you can expect to be charged in Gisborne. The pride they have in their city is self-evident already with the streets being scrupulously clean, any undesirables are discouraged and moved on.
Auckland : The council is imposing and strictly enforcing alcohol bans in the inner-city area. The result: A drastic reduction in crime in these areas.
For those of us involved in the Sensible Sentencing Trust it is very encouraging to see individual city councils showing the lead and taking a proactive stance in the fight against crime. A lot of mayors and councillors were elected on a pledge to "Get tough on crime". Not many have put their money where their mouth is. If you share our vision to see a "PATRIOTIC CRIME-FREE NEW ZEALAND" and are passionate about law and order we ask you to consider standing at the next local body elections. People are speaking out. The tide is changing, you can help, add your voice.
It is fantastic to see individual policing districts getting the support of their communities as the police in these areas try new initiatives in combating crime. The voice of the over zealous human rights civil liberties movement is now drowned out as communities demand action on crime. It is a pity our police don’t receive the same support from their own Minister!
In the past two and a half years I have spoken to hundreds of community groups and organisations. One thing that I am now 100 per cent certain of is that the job of the Sensible Sentencing Trust is to continue building and being the voice of those we represent. The momentum we have created needs to be fostered and built on. While I have no doubt that we are beginning to win, this is just the beginning. - Garth
Contact us by Email :
sensiblesentencing@xtra.co.nz
or write to
P.O. Box 701, NAPIER
"Staff at the office" would like to thank all those members who take the time to write to us It is your support that keeps us fighting!! Here are just a few of the many comments we receive......
South Auckland "Please do the best you can do. You are the only hope this country has"
Whakatane "Keep up your important work. While most of us sit in dumb silent pain at what is going on in New Zealand, the SST is saying it for us. Thank you."
Howick "Don’t give up guys! You are the only "Sensible" thing happening in this stupidly politically correct country"
Kaitaia "I fully support SST but shouldn’t we also look at ways of reducing the number of criminals. We have seven sensored lights around the house and one permanent street light (at our cost). Seven interior alarms and sensors and two exterior sirens. So far lucky. But why do we have to do this in a modern society? The situation is not improving. Keep up the good work."
Taranaki "I wish to thank the Sensible Sentencing Trust for its fervour and determination to bring about change and awareness to all New Zealanders".
Lower Hutt "Again, all I say is that it was a great effort on your part and your organization to bring to light the many failings of our justice system".
Rotorua "I am delighted at the calm and measured manner that the Trust promotes itself. I think the 28 - year sentence given to Howse was the best news I have heard in a long time. Please continue to promote the issues".
South Island "I want to thank you for what you are doing. I have been looking to become part of a group which wants to do something about the horrendous state of crime we have in our country".
We are making a difference BUT we need YOUR continued support both morally and financially to help us achieve our goals. Please phone 0900 723369 to make a further $20 donation. This will be charged directly to your phone account, or send your donation to P.O. box 701, Napier. Remember donations over $5 are tax deductible. You will receive a tax receipt.
Well, it’s all over! The Auckland Group’s project to raise funds for Sensible Sentencing Trust activities throughout the country has now been completed and at the time of writing most prizes have been claimed.
We are extremely grateful to all who participated, from the thousands who purchased tickets through some totally dedicated workers who spend one full Sunday recording and posting out thousands of books to members all over New Zealand.
Special thanks must go to the super sales people who recorded huge sales to their friends plus long hours some spent outside supermarkets dragging dollars from the general public. Special mention must go to Lyn Gautier and Linda Casey who gave unlimited days throughout the period to open thousands of envelopes, recording sales and processing a cartload of cheques. In addition they also assisted me by manning phones to remind members that they had not returned butts and cheques. Their contribution was way above the call of duty. Once again Garth and Anne were deeply involved - driving up to Auckland to help with the post out and then organising other groups to achieve sales.
Footnote- The New Zealand Herald has offered their sincere apologies for not forwarding the lottery results to the other major newspapers. The results will now have been published before you read this. - Neville Dixon lottery organiser.
Newsletter November 2003
All contributions for this column would be most welcomed.
This letter was sent to us and also published in two major newspapers....
PARSONS - The action I want you to take is : Join with Louise Parsons (nee Andrews), proud Dad Steve and all the family in welcoming Maggie Olive, 8 lbs 5 ozs, born Saturday October 11 into a country we are changing for the better, and the benefit will be we can all help her to be a great New Zealander.
"The only sure bulwark of continuing liberty
is a government strong enough to protect the
interests of the people, and a people strong
enough and well enough informed to maintain
its' sovereign control over its' government".
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt
For your diary
- Toward the end of 2004 there will be a National Sensible Sentencing Trust Conference.
ALL MEMBERS WELCOME
Reminder : Pete still has plenty of Bumper Stickers - we find it a very good way to advertise. Pete also requests local SST contacts for website as he has a few gaps to fill. He would also like members who have been victims of crime to contact him as he has set up a section for victims to tell their stories online. Also if anyone wishes to have the name of a victim placed on the Victims’ Memorial Page he is happy to assist with this too.
Contact Pete at laworder@xtra.co.nz. He will be overseas from 22nd March to 11th May, but still contactable by email, although there may be delays of up to a week in responding.
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