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Archived Press Releases 2004 7th November 2004

Sensible Sentencing calls for new “Super Prison"

(7th November 2004)

After a week of violent assaults and a riot in prison the Sensible Sentencing Trust is calling on the Minister of Corrections to cancel all proposed new prisons and build one new large capacity prison in the central North Island.

The Trust believes the “super prison" should be privately run with an incentive bonus to be paid on a performance basis. Spokesman Garth McVicar said the present prison system is experiencing phenomenal growth with an exceptionally high recidivism rate. This disastrous social experiment has in fact become New Zealand’s fastest growing industry.

“Under our existing prison system there is no incentive for anyone, inmates or staff to reduce the level of offending. We believe a privately run prison with the contractor being paid an annual bonus for every offender that does NOT return must be introduced if we want to reduce the ever expanding prison population."

The Sensible Sentencing Trust first proposed the concept to Matt Robson when he was Minister of Corrections in 2001, but he declined to take the idea further citing the necessity of keeping inmates close to their families to aid their rehabilitation process.

“With a re-offending rate approaching 90 percent we now know that rehabilitation is a figment of the imagination of politicians from Matt Robson’s era" Mr McVicar said. “Mr Swain seems like a much more sensible Minister and we are hoping he will see the merit in this proposal."

“We believe it is time New Zealand introduced a policy of consequences for every crime, instead of persisting with the failed experiment of rehabilitation. Not only will this idea reduce the level of offending it will save millions of dollars annually"

Mr McVicar said the central North Island proposal has a lot going for it including:
“Large areas of undeveloped land for building and gardening, the army in the event of riots, and the remoteness would discourage any potential escapes. The snow and the cold will be an added incentive for inmates not to return" he said

Regards,

Garth McVicar
National Spokesperson,
Sensible Sentencing Trust.