Minister - Govt must restore faith in sentencing

New Zealanders have lost faith in sentencing and parole laws, and major changes are on the way, Police and Corrections Minister Judith Collins says.

"The public is rightly concerned about the number of serious offences committed by people who have been released on parole, and that sentences of home detention are given to violent criminals," Ms Collins says.

"Restoring the public's faith in sentencing and parole will be a priority over the next 12 months. The community needs to be assured that people who are a threat are kept behind bars."

Ms Collins says home detention and parole laws are two areas the Government is determined to overhaul.

"Home detention was designed as an option for non-violent offenders. Under the previous government it was given to too many violent, sex and drug offenders who posed a serious threat to the community," Ms Collins says.

In 2006/07 more than 50% of the offenders on home detention had convictions for violent, sexual and drug offences, compared to 39% in 2001/02.

"Parole is also a concern. In the past, dangerous offenders have been paroled without adequate monitoring.

"The killing of Karl Kuchenbecker by Graeme Burton while he was out of prison on parole raises serious questions about the parole system. We are quite clear that such offenders should never again be eligible for parole."

Ms Collins says it is important that there are strict guidelines about who qualifies for home detention or parole, and that prisoners are correctly assessed for eligibility.

The public also needs to be assured that processes are in place to ensure prisoners are rigorously monitored and released only when they represent no threat to the community.

"New Zealanders must have confidence that policies for sentencing and parole are focused on keeping the community safe and providing appropriate consequences for offenders," Ms Collins says.