Author: Roger Brooking
How the lockdown unlocked 800 prisoners
Since the Labour led coalition came to power, the prison population has dropped from a peak of 10,820 in March 2018 to 8521 in December 2020. That’s a drop of over 20% – well on the way toward... Read More
Prison population bounces back up to 10,000 – again
The prison population dropped to 9,700 but has now bounced back to 10,000... Read More
Tell the Government we don’t need another prison
In February 2018, New Zealand's prison population hit an all-time high of 10,695. In response, a mega prison holding up to 3,000 inmates is planned at Waikeria. We don't need another prison. What we... Read More
How the murder of Christie Marceau led to 1,500 more people in prison
Ashkay Chand, who murdered Christie Marceau, was released on bail following a series of woefully inadequate mental health assessments... Read More
Why the prison population needs to be cut in the next six years
Andrew Little says Labour wants to reduce the prison population by 30% in 15 years. No political party in New Zealand has ever stayed in power for 15 years, so that's just wishful thinking... Read More
Why does New Zealand lock up so many people?
Any attempt to explain New Zealand’s high prison population must begin with an analysis of why Maori are so over-represented in offending statistics. It starts with our colonial history... Read More
Female prison population rising three times faster than males
Three quarters of women in prison have diagnosed mental health problems and more than half suffer from PTSD. More than two-thirds have also been victims of family violence... Read More
We lock up more people than numerous corrupt, undemocratic, war-torn countries
New Zealand locks up more people per capita than most other western democracies. We now have a higher rate of imprisonment than 160 other countries... Read More
32 Kiwi academics opposed to new prison
We call on the government to stop the new prison at Waikeria. The proposal to spend a billion dollars on this venture is at odds with its explicit commitment to reduce prison numbers... Read More
The New Zealand media grossly exaggerates the level of crime in society
The selective and disproportionate media coverage of violent crime, when set alongside actual police statistics, raises questions of skewed reporting at a time when crime rates are falling.... Read More
Justice sector projections about prison growth are consistently wrong
In December 2016, the prison population hit 10,000 six years earlier than predicted. In February 2018, it reached 10,695. Officials say there are only 300 beds left in the system... Read More
If prisoners are released early, where will they go?
They will go where they have always gone - back where they came from. If they came from a supportive family, they will go back there. If they came from a dysfunctional family, they will likely go back... Read More
How Finland reduced its prison population by two thirds
Beginning in 1950, Finland managed to cut its imprisonment rate by 70% with no apparent effect on the crime rate. Finnish politicians agreed not to use ‘fear of crime’ as a populist theme... Read More