Three-strikes bid cuts no ice

Tauranga Labour Party candidate Dr Rachel Jones said there needed to be more focus on crime prevention initiatives and rehabilitation programmes. Photo / Thinkstock

A call to enforce tougher sentences for offenders who have been convicted of burglary three times is not tough enough, according to sentencing advocates.

However, local politicians say the policy will have no impact on crime.

This week Act Party leader Jamie Whyte called for burglary to be included under the three strikes legislation. Under the policy an offender who racked up their third burglary conviction would spend at least three years in prison without parole.

Tauranga Sensible Sentencing Trust spokesman Ken Evans said the trust supported the move to make burglary a three-strikes offence but said Act's policy did not go far enough.

"The Sensible Sentencing Trust considers burglary should be treated the same as a home invasion, as the amount of burglaries in the country each year is horrendous and the impact on victims was devastating."

Mr Evans said if the Government was serious about reducing the number of burglaries they needed to better resource police and stop taking a "softly softly" approach with criminals.

Tauranga Labour Party candidate Dr Rachel Jones said there needed to be more focus on crime prevention initiatives and rehabilitation programmes before moving to a three-strike law.

There was no evidence a three-strikes law would be a deterrent, she said.

"I don't think burglars are as calculated as that and can't see them standing outside a house and weighing up the risks. I think most burglaries are opportunistic or a desperate act by someone to feed their addiction."

Dr Jones said she agreed there needed to be tougher sentences for career criminals but there was a real risk that young offenders would come out worse criminals than they went in.

Tauranga MP Simon Bridges was not convinced there needed to be a three-strikes law for burglary as judges already had the power to impose a 10-year prison sentence for the worst recidivist burglars.

"We already have some of the toughest laws on crime and I think Act really needs to show what significant gains can be made by toughening up the law on burglary even further."