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Archived Press Releases 2006 24th April 2006

Parole shake-up a con says justice watch-dog

(24th April 2006)

A justice watch-dog organization has slammed the Law Commission proposal to increase parole from one third to two thirds as an attempt to con the public, which will have no beneficial effect on crime or prison levels.

The Sensible Sentencing Trust were commenting on an announcement that the Law Commission was recommending a shake-up of the current law so that criminals would be required to serve two thirds of their sentence instead of the current one third before being eligible for parole.

Trust spokesman Garth McVicar said that the so-called shake-up was actually a shake-down and the public were being conned, "This is more of the same old clap trap that has lead this Country to the brink of social disaster, under these proposals our crime and imprisonment rates will continue to escalate".

“Parole is a crock, a misconception that has caused the public to lose confidence in our Courts and Corrections systems. If the Law Commission is serious about fixing problems with the current system they should abolish parole and ensure criminals serve their full Judge given sentence in jail.

McVicar said parole must be used as a tool to reintegrate and rehabilitate offenders at the end of their jail term, not part way through.

Regards,

Garth McVicar
National Spokesperson,
Sensible Sentencing Trust.