GROUPS UNITE TO CAMPAIGN FOR PUNISHMENT WITHOUT JAIL

Two Christian groups working in prisons joined forces yesterday to
start a campaign to persuade New Zealanders to keep more people out of prison.

The Salvation Army and Prison Fellowship invited all MPs to a meeting
at Parliament to hear from a high-powered reference board for the
campaign, led by former Governor-General and Anglican Archbishop Sir
Paul Reeves.

The Salvation Army's director of social policy, Major Campbell
Roberts, said other measures, such as treating mental health problems
and addictions, would be more effective in reducing crime than
locking offenders in jail.

"We are locking more people away than previously, and for longer
periods, but if you said to most people, are they feeling safer, the
answer would be no," he said.

"Often the only response that we have to punishment is prison, but
there are other options. There are things that are working well.
People need to know that."

New Zealand's jail rolls have risen by a third since a tough new
sentencing law was passed in 2002, and the country now has the
fourth-highest imprisonment rate in the developed world.

But this year the Government has taken steps to slow the growth,
introducing new community-based sentences, new sentencing guidelines,
a Sentencing Council and two more prison drug and alcohol treatment units.

Major Roberts said everyone accepted that some offenders needed to be
locked up for a long time "because there is nothing you are going to
be able to do that will change their behaviour".

"But there is an argument about how many people that is," he said.

"I think the tendency is to think that most of the prison population
is in that situation, whereas I think it's quite a small number of people."

Most offenders could be helped on to a lawful path with adequate
mental health and addiction services.

"We need to make sure there are adequate services available for
addicts and for those things which are often driving people into
criminal activity in the first place," Major Roberts said.

The Rethinking Crime and Punishment campaign would provide factual
material to balance the emotions stirred up by individual violent
crimes, he said.

Other reference board members include Auckland University law
professor Warren Brookbanks, South Auckland Christian social worker
Sam Chapman, Maxim Institute director Greg Fleming, former prison
manager Celia Lashlie, former Ombudsman Mel Smith, Youth Court Judge
Stan Thorburn and church leaders.