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Results of Relevant Public Polls

Herald Poll on prison sentences for killers

A poll was taken on the Herald site more recently after Graham Burton's release and consequential assaults and murder in January 2007. The results are interesting;
What prison sentence should a convicted killer receive in NZ?
10-20 years                              5 percent
Life - without possibility of parole   49 percent
20-30 years                              20 percent
The death penalty              27 percent

Herald Summer Poll on Justice Issues

As part of the Herald's Summer Polls series, a poll was taken with three questions being asked ;
Should jurors be told of a defendant's previous convictions?
Yes             68.4 percent
No              27.8 percent
Don't know   3.8 percent
Should the right to silence for a defendant be abolished
Yes             41.7 percent
No              50.6 percent
Don't know   7.7 percent
Is the number of criminals sentenced to imprisonment....
Too high?      29.9 percent
Too low?       32.2 percent
About right   27.3 percent
Don't know   10.6 percent
The poll is detailed here in an in-depth background article.

Previous Poll Results for 0900 56666

Polls conducted on Radio Pacific, Solid Gold and Radio Live

Hard Labour

Should hard labour be introduced to our prisons?
Results
Yes         95 percent
No         5 percent

Victim entitlement to Prisoner Compensation

Should victims automatically be entitled to any criminal compensation payments?
Results
Yes         97 percent
No         3 percent

Prison Sentences

Should violent criminals and sex offenders serve their full judge given sentence?
Results
Yes         95 percent
No         5 percent

Prisoner Compensation

Should Criminals in prison be entitled to any form of Government compensation?
Results
Yes         6 percent
No         94 percent

A similar poll was taken on the Xtra homepage
The result was as follows;
Should prisoners be entitled to receive compensation?
Yes :         930
No :         11642