By Tess Bartlett - Rethinking Crime and Punishment

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Chapter Two:Pressure Groups and the Emergence of the SensibleSentencing TrustAfter the 1999 law and order referendum, citizen’s groups began to play a pivotalrole in penal policy development. The extensive reporting of violent crime in themass media meant the New Zealand public were more inclined to unite over criminaljustice issues that were considered a threat to the community – issues that hadpreviously been addressed exclusively by criminal justice experts. This chapter willexplain the circumstances that led to the formation of the Sensible Sentencing Trust,a unique law and order pressure group in New Zealand.In order to discuss the various attributes of the Sensible Sentencing Trust, and theenvironment which allowed it to flourish, it seems necessary to first define thosecharacteristics commonly associated with the pressure group. Rose (1961: 263)defines it simply as being ‘a group that presses’ while Jaensch (1981, cited in Cullen& Lloyd, 1991: 4, original emphasis) states that a ‘pressure group is a formalorganisation of people who share one or more interests or objectives or concerns andwho try to influence the course of public policy to protect, or to promote theseobjectives’. The common feature is the aspiration of pressure groups to influencepublic policy and government (Blaisdell, 1957; Cullen & Lloyd, 1991; Key Jr, 1967;Rose, 1961; Wilson, 1981). To advance their interests, pressure groups may engagein active lobbying, where pressure is applied ‘directly on a legislature, or onindividual members, in an attempt to achieve their aims’ (Jaensch, 1981, cited inCullen & Lloyd, 1991: 4). Groups such as the Howard League for Penal Reform (aBritish reform group that was established in New Zealand in the 1920s) have longadopted these lobbying techniques to advocate for penal policy change (Ryan, 1978).One is able to contrast the Howard League, which Ryan (1978: Title) refers to as ‘theacceptable pressure group’, with the Sensible Sentencing Trust, as it provides aframework with which to analyse the organisation and the different strategiesemployed. Ryan (1978: 76) explains that the Howard League rely on facts, where theaccuracy of the facts are of extreme importance:40
Governments and their civil servants can be persuaded by reasonedargument supported by well researched evidence. But once a pressuregroup strays into idle speculation, and above all, inaccuracy, then allis lost.The criteria for the acceptable (liberal) pressure group, then, as detailed by Ryan(1978), emphasised the need for informed debate where there was a reliance onfactual information to advocate change. However, the Sensible Sentencing Trustemploys a different approach than that of the Howard League. The Trust opposescriminal justice elites (for example, judges and academics), using victims of crime toadvocate reform, and evidence that is in the form of anecdote and common senserather than research based facts. In this chapter it will become evident that theapproach adopted by the Sensible Sentencing Trust is markedly different from that ofthe early pressure group, but this approach has become acceptable in New Zealandsociety, thus indicating that the criterion for what constitutes pressure groupacceptability has changed.Victim Support Groups in New ZealandThe momentum with which pressure groups gained force in New Zealand at the turnof the twentyfirst century was in many ways a reflection of the growth of singleissuewomen’s groups throughout the world from the 1970s (previously noted in theintroduction). At that time, the strong sense of social cohesion and solidarity that hadsupported society throughout the postwar period was diminishing. This made theintroduction of a multitude of women’s groups (see Grey, 2008) all the moresignificant to New Zealand, as individuals linked by a common identity – namely thevictimisation and oppression of women in society – joined forces to push for social,cultural and political change (Sawer & Grey, 2008). One group in particular wasWomen’s Refuge, a service developed in 1971 to confront the issue of familyviolence (Rape Crisis Dunedin, n.d: Par. 1). By 1981, the ‘National Collective ofIndependent Women’s Refuges Incorporated’ was established to further advance thecause (Rape Crisis Dunedin, n.d). Its voice was reflected in various legislativechanges made in the 1980s, one of which was the Domestic Protection Act 1982,41
Page 3 and 4: AcknowledgementsWriting this thesis
Page 5 and 6: ContentsAbstract ..................
Page 7 and 8: IntroductionIn September 2007, New
Page 9 and 10: Thereafter, the Labourled coaliti
Page 11 and 12: Postwar Security and Penalwelfa
Page 13 and 14: the exterior of electoral politics,
Page 15 and 16: social conditions, towards that whi
Page 17 and 18: penal policy development where they
Page 19 and 20: implementation of this legislation.
Page 21 and 22: increasingly aware of crime, gainin
Page 23 and 24: immigration was considered a threat
Page 25 and 26: in agricultural exports, particular
Page 27 and 28: The time would seem to be appropria
Page 29 and 30: In keeping crime out of the public
Page 31 and 32: The Labour Party’s response to th
Page 33 and 34: across a multitude of family househ
Page 35 and 36: Changes in New Zealand mediaThe dif
Page 37 and 38: dominant feature of New Zealand soc
Page 39: Despite its manifest contradictions
Page 43 and 44: The Victims Task Force believed tha
Page 45 and 46: eferendum into legislation, motivat
Page 47 and 48: [New Zealand was] one of the safest
Page 49 and 50: governments in the hope that ‘suc
Page 51 and 52: McVicar paints of himself as the
Page 53 and 54: that New Zealanders have been expos
Page 55 and 56: This combination of circumstances c
Page 57 and 58: Sympathy, empathy, commiseration an
Page 59 and 60: [h]ad not risen from the ‘victims
Page 61 and 62: illicit a response from the communi
Page 63 and 64: Reform Bill). The Trust made submis
Page 65 and 66: The willingness by Opposition MPs t
Page 67 and 68: I remind [the National Party] that
Page 69 and 70: However, the Labourled government
Page 71 and 72: 6). While these opposing parties po
Page 73 and 74: One development in particular incre
Page 75 and 76: policymaking 32 . From 2000 to 2006
Page 77 and 78: had removed suspended sentences as
Page 79 and 80: Chapter Four:Resistance to Penal Po
Page 81 and 82: 2004: 44). The situation worsened i
Page 83 and 84: were designed to address New Zealan
Page 85 and 86: $3.341 million annually from 2009/2
Page 87 and 88: organisation, was interested in bur
Page 89 and 90: Because of the capability of the me
Page 91 and 92:
The case of Graeme BurtonThe second
Page 93 and 94:
‘parole should be a privilege, no
Page 95 and 96:
given the difficulties in measureme
Page 97 and 98:
package to prioritise this issue. H
Page 99 and 100:
emained insecure and overtly puniti
Page 101 and 102:
the end of its tenure. As a result,
Page 103 and 104:
The thesis has explained and analys
Page 105 and 106:
main determinants are addressed. As
Page 107 and 108:
Atkinson, J. (2002). Structures of
Page 109 and 110:
Bureau of Justice Statistics (2008b
Page 111 and 112:
Cullen, P., & Lloyd, C. (1991). Lob
Page 113 and 114:
Department of Statistics (N.Z) (199
Page 115 and 116:
Hall, G., & O'Driscoll, S. (2002).
Page 117 and 118:
Johnson, R. J., & Ogloff, J. R. P.
Page 119 and 120:
Maguire, M. (2002). Crime data and
Page 121 and 122:
Ministry of Justice (2002a). Senten
Page 123 and 124:
New Zealand Parliament (1993a). Cri
Page 125 and 126:
asket.co.nz.helicon.vuw.ac.nz/searc
Page 127 and 128:
O'Conner, D. (2006). Effective Inte
Page 129 and 130:
Prisoners in line for waist restrai
Page 131 and 132:
Sentencing Amendment Act. (2007). R
Page 133 and 134:
http://www.stats.govt.nz/products
Page 135 and 136:
contours of New Zealand (pp. 1111
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By Tess Bartlett - Rethinking Crime and Punishment

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