Council Wants Vandals To Be Ordered To Work

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29749, 16 February 1962, Page 11

Council Wants Vandals To Be Ordered To Work

A remit aimed at introducing legislation empowering magistrates to order vandals to do an amount of work equivalent to the damage done to the property of local bodies will be put before the next meeting of Ward 11 of the New Zealand Counties’ Association.

The remit, put forward by the Waimairi County Council last evening is: “That the present law covering penalties for vandalism in public places be amended to provide that a person found guilty of such an offence may be directed by a magistrate to work under the local body responsible for the public property which was damaged, for such a period as would compensate tihe local authority for the cost of making good such damage.” Cr. J. I. Colligan said that recently three lavatories in Burnside Park had been “smashed to the ground” by vandals. He thought the present law and the imposition of fines was no deterrent to vandals and that making the vandals work to create something, to replace what they had destroyed, would not only be a deterrent but also a punishment that would give the offenders the idea of constructive work rather than destruction.

Cr. H. J. Reynolds: The vandals would have to be labelled or we would be in

trouble. They would work like prisoners, with no heart in it. and the ratepayers would ask what kind of a crew of workers the council was employing. Cr. A. R. Blank said the vandalism occurred in the last week of the school holidays. The holidays were too long and should be shortened. “Most of the vandalism happens in the last week of the holidays,” he said.