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Archived Press Releases 2008 6th March 2008

MONITOR KURARIKI – BE SAFE RATHER THAN SORRY SAYS MCNEIL

(6th March 2008)

The son of murdered school teacher Lois Dear is supporting Rita Croskery’s call for electronically monitoring of offenders such as Bailey Junior Kurariki.

Kevin McNeil said that victims should have an automatic right to have a say into the conditions offenders are released under.

"Rita Croskery ought to have some input into the terms and conditions of the release of this young thug, it was her son that was murdered."

“Why is it that the voice of the victims and their rights are always ignored?”

“Rita has worked hard on behalf of all victims and law abiding New Zealanders to make our country a safer place – she has my total support – and I am sure the support of thousands of other Kiwis.”

“It is very obvious that at present we have a very arrogant political regime; while surrounding themselves with the ultimate in security they seem to be totally oblivious and indifferent to the threat dangerous offenders pose to the rest of the community.”

“Kurariki has been in jail for seven years. He is only 19 and will be very head-strong, to release an offender like him into an unsuspecting community is madness. Electronically monitoring him makes sense, for our sake as well as his own.”

Mr McNeil said that he and the Croskery’s as well as thousands of other victims had joined the Sensible Sentencing Trust so that the collective voice of the victims could bring a balance to what had become a very offender orientated system.

“The Trust had managed to expose many of the failures of the system in order to ultimately bring about change – imagine the fiasco if the Sensible Sentencing Trust did not exist.”

Mr McNeil had a warning for the government, saying that it appeared the Government was now paying the price of ignoring the plight of victims.

“They continue to ignore us at their peril – this is Election year and the day of reckoning is getting very near.

Regards,

Kevin McNeil
son of murdered Tokorora Primary School Teacher, Lois Dear
Email at kltz@xtra.co.nz