Privatised prisons are a recipe for disaster: Greens

National’s plans for privatising prisons, and a three-strikes-and-you’re-out policy will worsen, not improve, New Zealand’s criminal justice system.

“Private prisons are internationally renowned for corruption and the abuse of prisoners and staff – hence the Green Party’s strong stance against having private prisons in New Zealand,” Green Party MP Metiria Turei said.

“Combining the profit-driven imperative of private prisons with the three strikes policy and boot camps for young offenders is a recipe for disaster.”

“When the criminal justice system becomes an income-generating stream for private corporations then it leads to corruption such as the recent United States case, where judges in Pennsylvania have been charged with taking millions of dollars in brides to send teenagers to privately-run youth detention centres.”

According to Mrs Turei “tough on crime” rhetoric needs intelligent evaluation rather than a simplistic kneejerk response. Following the United States example risks repeating their tragic mistakes whereby a wider section of society is criminalised and imprisoned.

“The Green Party is also concerned at the impact on Maori, who are already disproportionately represented in the prison population. When rhetoric becomes reality, Maori are the ones who suffer.”

“Principal Youth Court Judge Andrew Becroft pointed out – in his address to the Prison Fellowship conference last May – that Maori youth are more likely to come into contact with the youth justice system and receive more severe sentences than non-Maori,” Mrs Turei said.

“More than half our prison population is Maori, so the potential for any changes in criminal justice - such as these extreme policies - is likely to have a greater effect on them. Maori will inevitably bear the brunt of these unfortunate experiments.

“And, as for the suggestion that Maori embrace and take part in the penal privatisation model, I think it would be disgraceful if iwi Maori end up making a financial gain from their involvement in private prisons and profiting from the imprisonment of their own people.”