Taito guilty
No surprises and a good outcome. That man betrayed everyone who ever supported and trusted him. He exemplifies how power can corrupt, something […]
Social issues
crime
Wee gripes: doublethink
If you read Kiwiblog or listen to talkback radio (basically the same thing – smart guy baiting reactionaries for his political ends) then […]
Bully State
NZPA reports: An MP from government confidence and supply party ACT today told prison officers who spoke out against private prisons that they […]
Nats grandstanding on legal reform
Today we saw Justice Minister Simon Power get a front-page story for proposing a ‘reform‘ of the justice system that is actually just […]
Justice, provocation, and the media
Provocation is a partial defence to a charge of murder. It reduces murder to manslaughter if the jury accepts that actions of the […]
Says it all really
You pricks decided what you were going to do and you’re not listening to me or anybody else. . . You people are […]
A National disgrace
Judith “Crusher” Collins, postergirl for uncompassionate conservatives, proudly announces in her latest press release: “Prison numbers set to be highest ever”. Odd thing to […]
Political violence
A Nelson man attempted to buy a gun to shoot Nick Smith. Details are scant. What could have been a nasty situation looks […]
Elucidate
The woman has dropped her criminal complaint over Worth. Says she is satisfied now the scumbag has lost his career. Police are expected […]
‘Crusher’ running scared
I’ve never been the biggest fan of Clayton Cosgrove, but he’s sure got ‘Crusher’ Collins running scared on her cuts to police vehicles. […]
Rhetoric & Reality 3: Crime
One of the most tedious and predictable right wing electoral tactics is to try and whip up a frenzy of fear about crime, […]
Should Key have appointed Worth at all?
On Q+A this morning, Phil Goff was asked by Paul Holmes for more detail on why John Key wasn’t surprised when he took […]
Wait, didn’t he say ‘women’?
There’s still a lot of confusion on the Right, in particular, about the sequence of events in the Worth saga, so I’ve tried […]
Question time
John Key’s making a real hash of this latest Worth scandal. There was the secretive way he went about things yesterday, which is […]
“Confusing and might be taken the wrong way by some”
Duncan Garner had to do a balance piece against David Shearer because he has been at the forefront of covering the implosion of […]
Simon Power needs to do some research
Simon Power talking on Q+A on Sunday showed a abysmal ignorance about how matters operate in his own portfolio. He blamed lawyers and […]
Veitch saga shows it really is no longer OK
I know it’s not The Standard’s style to follow the media in the disgusting practice of turning real people’s lives into soap opera but there […]
Statistical crimes and the media
You might have noticed that there was none of the traditional beat-up over crime when the crime statistics came out last week even […]
Submit!
From No Right Turn. The Law and Order Committee has called for submissions on the Corrections (Contract Management of Prisons) Amendment Bill. Two […]
A healthy dose of reality on prisons
Peter Williams QC was on Breakfast this morning giving a refreshingly frank assessment of the problems with our prison and justice systems – […]
Lord Ashcroft woz here
Boing Boing reports that: The London police have bested their own impressive record for insane and stupid anti-terrorism posters with a new range […]
Tapu Misa on private prisons
From Tapu Misa’s latest column: National thinks that… [t]hrough the magic of “competition” we’ll get a first rate penal system, and private providers […]
See no evil
I’ve been meaning to write something about the private prisons bill for a couple of days as it’s a recipe for barbarity. But […]
Sensible Sentencing Trust and GEO Group, a deafening silence
Yesterday Tane did an excellent post speculating on links between the Sensible Sentencing Trust and GEO Group. GEO Group derived from the notorious […]
Sick
ACT MP David Garrett is quickly becoming a sick joke. Asked today about the fact more prisoners will be assaulted or raped by […]
Melting point
The Ecologist Film Unit’s second release documents how espionage, news manipulation, legal threats and even violence have become the knee-jerk response of Government […]
Private prisons and the ‘tough on crime’ lobby
One of the features of a privatised prison system is the potential for corruption of the political process by the commercial interests of […]
Centrist? Bullshit.
The Herald has the scoop that National is looking to privatise New Zealand’s prison system. Add David Garrett’s savage three strikes law and […]
“Not a good look”
I have to agree with Idiot/Savant on the Graham Thomas issue. The idea that there is no written information on the matter is […]
Act MP caught out
Rethinking Crime and Punishment Director, Kim Workman, has caught Act MP David Garrett being less than honest about how many extra prisoners his […]
On ACT’s three strikes policy
ACT’s infamous three-strikes-and-you’re-out policy will get a first airing in the House tomorrow when the Sentencing and Parole Reform Bill is introduced. Violent […]
Sold out
According to the Dom Post Judith Collins is preparing legislation to reintroduce private prisons into New Zealand’s corrections system. The arguments against privatisation […]
Institutional racism
Bruce Emery’s sentence of just four years and three months on a reduced charge of manslaughter for chasing 15 year old Pihema Cameron […]
Left to the market
Two Pennsylvania Judges have been accused of taking bribes from private prison operators to ensure a reliable stream of prisoners. To quote Associated […]
DPF and Whale make me happy!1!
There’s been a story that I have been dreading having to respond to because it is so low, dishonest, and despicable. Truth be told, […]
Car crushing fist of the State
Despite being remarkably quiet throughout a spate of serious police controversies, Police Minister Judith Collins has finally risen to the challenge of leadership […]