Paul Goldsmith Announces Tougher Sentencing Reforms to Prioritize Victims and Deter Crime

In light of a 33% increase in violent crime, Minister Goldsmith expressed concerns over a troubling trend in which courts have been imposing fewer and shorter prison sentences.

Sentencing reforms aimed at ensuring tougher consequences for criminals and prioritizing victims have successfully passed their first reading in Parliament, according to Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith.

In light of a 33% increase in violent crime, Minister Goldsmith expressed concerns over a troubling trend in which courts have been imposing fewer and shorter prison sentences. “We must restore confidence in our justice system to denounce and deter criminal activity,” he stated. Key Features of the Upcoming Reforms

The proposed reforms seek to strengthen the criminal justice system by implementing the following changes:

Capping Sentence Discounts: Judges will be limited to a maximum 40% discount on sentences when considering mitigating factors unless it leads to manifestly unjust outcomes.

Preventing Repeat Discounts: The reforms will prohibit repeat discounts based on youth and expressions of remorse. Current lenient sentences have failed to deter repeat offenders who exploit these mitigating factors without making genuine efforts to reform.

Addressing Retail Crime: A new aggravating factor will be introduced for serious retail crimes, specifically aimed at offences against sole charge workers and those whose homes and businesses are interconnected, as outlined in the National-Act coalition agreement.

Cumulative Sentencing: The reforms will encourage cumulative sentencing for offences committed while on bail, in custody, or on parole, in order to denounce behaviours that disregard the criminal justice system, as promised in the National-New Zealand First coalition agreement.

Sliding Scale for Early Guilty Pleas: A structured approach to discounts for early guilty pleas will be implemented, allowing a maximum discount of 25% for early pleas and reducing to 5% for guilty pleas entered during the trial. This aims to prevent unnecessary trials that burden victims and the justice system.

Victim Interests Consideration: Amendments will require the court to consider any information provided regarding victims’ interests during sentencing, fulfilling commitments made in both coalition agreements.

Additional Aggravating Factors

The bill also includes two specific aggravating factors:

Exploitation of Youth: Adults who exploit children and young people by facilitating their offences will face harsher penalties.

Glorifying Criminal Activities: Offenders who promote their criminal activities through livestreaming or social media posts will also face tougher consequences.

A Commitment to Safer Communities

Minister Goldsmith emphasized that these reforms aim to protect communities and ensure that “hardworking Kiwis should not have to live and work in fear of offenders who show a blatant disregard for the law.” He projected that these changes could lead to 20,000 fewer victims of violent crime by 2029, alongside a 15% reduction in serious repeat youth offending.

These reforms are part of a broader initiative to revitalize public confidence in the justice system and ensure that victims are prioritized in the sentencing process.