Three strikes law targeted for repeal

The “three strikes” law will be repealed and more offenders will serve their sentences in the community under changes proposed by Justice Minister Andrew Little.

Little will take a proposal to repeal the controversial law to the Cabinet when it meets in 10 days.

He was at pains to point out that the changes were a “modest” package.

“We’re not doing wholesale reform until we get a good public debate going,” he said last night.

Little said the existing option of home detention for sentences of under two years in prison was being used less by judges.

“The proposal that’s going before Cabinet is to give a bit of a statutory signal that we want more promotion of that as an alternative to prison.”

The changes come when the prison population remains well over 10,000 and is forecast to rise.

The measures also include restoring the former Sentencing Council to provide consistency in sentencing across the country.

Little said its benefit was that it “doesn’t just have judges on it, it has lay members . . . so that the guidelines developed for judges reflect community expectations as well”.

He was confident the electronic bail system and the promised extra police would ensure effective responses if something went wrong. Little denied being soft on crime. National Party leader Simon Bridges said the proposal for those sentenced to less than two years to get home detention understated how serious their offences could be.