Three strikes law may see early releases - criminologist

Photo / Richard Robinson

Preventive detention will be retained as a sentencing option for judges under the Government's proposed "three strikes" legislation, Police Minister Judith Collins said today.

She was commenting after a criminologist said the legislation could let some third-time offenders out of prison earlier than if they were sentenced under current law.

National and Act have agreed to pass a three-strikes law under which some killers will be locked away in prison without any chance of release.

Once an offender is convicted of a third serious offence, the judge will have to impose the maximum sentence for the crime.

No prisoner convicted of a serious offence will be eligible for parole - early release under monitored conditions - if the conviction is for a second or third offence.

For murder and manslaughter, the maximum sentence is life imprisonment.

For sexual violation it is 20 years and for aggravated robbery, kidnapping and attempted murder it will be 14 years.

But Victoria University criminology Professor John Pratt said the proposed law change was an "empty political gesture".

He said the change would let some third-time offenders out after a fixed period, whereas preventive detention allowed them to be kept in prison for the rest of their life if they were still deemed a risk.

"If I had the choice ... and I was a third-time, serious violent offender, I think I would definitely choose the three-strikes law to be punished by rather than preventive detention."

The policy was an example of changes to penal law "being made on the strength of sensational cases or for purely strategic political reasons", Prof Pratt said.

But Mrs Collins said under the new policy, "life would mean life - ie until they die" and for other serious offences, a third strike would put offenders behind bars for the maximum sentence available.

Preventive detention could be applied if a longer sentence was required, she said.

Labour has also branded the move is a gimmick that falls well short of what National was promising before the last election, while the Maori Party says it is populist and that "judicial discretion is overruled by political dogma".

Act has taken a large amount of the credit for the law, having campaigned heavily last election on a "three strikes and you're out for 25 years" policy.

Under the proposed a law, a 20-year-old sentenced next year to four years for robbery, would be eligible for parole after serving a third of the sentence.

If he committed another robbery and was sentenced to five years he would have to serve all five years in prison.

If he committed a third robbery and carried a baseball bat, making it an aggravated robbery, he would have to be sentenced to 14 years and would serve 14 years.

If the aggravated robbery resulted in a murder, he would spend the rest of his life behind bars.

No offender will be able to accumulate three strikes in one crime spree.

Judges now have discretion to apply minimum non-parole sentences for murder.

The new law will remove that discretion in all but exceptional cases in which the judge believes that to sentence for the maximum period would be"manifestly unjust".

Such discretion is available now to judges when sentencing murders to life imprisonment.

It has been used only once since 2002, in the case of an elderly man who killed his wife then tried to take his own life.

The new measures will be introduced in the Sentencing and Parole Reform Bill, which has been with a select committee while National and Act negotiated an agreement.

Crimes committed before the law is passed will not be covered, so it may be about eight to 10 years before the first offender is sentenced under the three-strikes law.

- Audrey Young with NZPA