The prison population has been rising under Labour and National… We’ll be at twice the OECD average by 2027, according to our projections.
The Opportunities Party co-deputy leader Geoff Simmons (in a video on the party's Facebook page) The prison population in New Zealand actually dipped slightly between 2011 and 2013. Increases since 2013 can largely be attributed to changes in the Bail Act & Sentencing Act. The Bail Act placed tougher conditions on those seeking bail, while also limiting which offences would qualify for bail. Changes to the Sentencing Act were introduced to ensure all victims were offered restorative justice prior to their sentencing. These changes have meant an overall higher proportion of prisoners are remanded in custody (kept in prison while their case is going through the courts) at any given time, as an overall percentage of the total prisoner population. At the top end of projections, the Ministry of Justice has forecast that prison numbers will likely increase by about 19 percent by the 2025/26 year. Inside Paremoremo PrisonPhoto: RNZ / Claire Eastham-Farrelly New Zealand’s total number of incarcerated persons are the seventh highest per capita in the OECD at a rate of 210 prisoners per 100,000 people, while the OECD average hovers around 140 per 100,000 people. Using the ministry's projections, the imprisonment rate would rise to 232 per 100,000 (accounting for a general population increase) by 2025/26 - about 66 percent higher than the current OECD average but not double. The ministry has not published its projections for the 2027 year.
Fact or Fiction: How correct are corrections claims?
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