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Government plans to introduce tough new sentencing laws and cram extra inmates into existing prisons could trigger a mental health time bomb, the Green Party says.
Chief Ombudsman Beverley Wakem yesterday sounded a warning about large numbers of inmates with untreated mental illnesses, which she said posed dangers staff, other prisoners and the afflicted inmates themselves.
Green Party law and order spokeswoman Metiria Turei today said the Government's promised suite of hardline sentencing policies and its agreement to partly back ACT's "three strikes" legislation would only make that situation worse.
The Government has promised to build a new prison to house the projected bulge in inmates, but with planning and construction likely to take several years it has said it will consider extending the use of "double bunking" - housing two prisoners in one cell.
An increase in prisoners being held in crammed conditions would exacerbate mental illness, making treatment more difficult, ultimately putting the whole community at risk, Ms Turei said.
"Mental illness and lack of medical care contributes to crime," she said.
"If there was proper funding and support for mental health services there would be less offending and reoffending because those problems are likely to be behind much of the offending that occurs."
An urgent increase in mental health services both in the community, as a preventative measure, and in prisons was necessary to deal with the problem, Ms Turei said.
Corrections Association of New Zealand (CANZ) president Bevan Hanlon also chimed in today saying where double bunking was already being used in prisons the over-crowding was posing a danger for the mentally ill.
"There was one prisoner in the prison I work where the other prisoners realised he was not all there and they talked him into cutting his scrotum open and ripping out a testicle," he said.
But he also questioned National's ability to follow through on a policy of double bunking, saying it could not increase inmate numbers in the existing prisons without agreement from the union.
Corrections Minister Judith Collins today said she was happy to talk to the union about increases in inmate numbers, but expected National's policies to take time to flow through into the prison muster.
However she refused to back away from double bunking, saying it was preferable to some of the other options for housing prisoners used by the previous government, including keeping some prisoners in vans.
"We're not going to not just lock up some violent dangerous criminals because it might need some double bunking within the prison system," she said.
"But we don't believe there is going to be a huge blowout in the very short term."
Mrs Collins said she had sought a briefing from officials on the issue of mental health treatment in prisons and expected to receive it in the "next few days".
National campaigned on several tougher sentencing policies including stricter bail laws, an end to parole for repeat violent offenders, life in prison for the worst murderers and longer sentences for those who commit crimes against children.
As part of its support deal with Act it also agreed to support that party's "three strikes" legislation through its first reading.
Under the draft bill anyone convicted three times for a range of violent crimes faces an automatic life sentence, with a minimum non-parole period of 25 years.
On their second conviction they would be sentenced to the maximum penalty under the Crimes Act with a minimum non-parole period of two thirds of the sentence passed.
Crimes in the bill include murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, serious assaults and sexual crimes, domestic violence, serious firearms offences and the manufacture or sale of methamphetamine.
- NZPA
