The prison shortage

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32659, 15 July 1971, Page 10

The prison shortage

The Opposition will have a justifiable complaint against the Government if it can show that the courts are unable to impose appropriate sentences for want of sufficient accommodation in prisons. No Government is keen to spend large sums’ on prisons; but prison facilities must meet the needs of the courts when no better forms of punishment, deterrence, or reform are available. The Leader of the Opposition (Mr Kirk) has for some time taken a strong line on the question of law and order, especially on crimes of violence; and there can be little doubt that he has the support of very many people who want to see the courts taking tough action against offenders. There will be little public complaint against Government spending on prisons that are equipped to do the job expected of them. For all this, it would be unwise to encourage the public to regard imprisonment as anything but a last resort This is how the courts regard it, whether prison accommodation is scarce or plentiful. Demands for adequate prison accommodation should not distract attention from the need to explore and develop other penal measures. The failure of prison sentences to deter and reform does not arise only from unsatisfactory conditions in prisons; it comes just as much from the limited nature of the itself. Sentences of periodic detention and of probation, accompanied by special conditions requiring restitution and work for the community, have had encouraging results. The courts have substantia) powers to require offenders to make restitution in cases of damage to property; they can order offenders to pay any sum they think fit as compensation Fines can be used to make offenders compensate the victims of assault Such penalties can he administered only through close supervision bv woll-onalified officers of the Department of Justice They are sometimes heavy penalties; and they should make offenders much more aware of the consequences of their actions and of their responsibilities to the community and its individual members. If the demand for more prison accommodation were to lessen public support for the range of other, more fruitful, measures, New Zealand’s hopes of putting into effect the policies planned over recent years bv a notably enlightened Department of Justice would receive a sad setback indeed. .