Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith (right) at Parliament with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith (right) at Parliament with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The Government is introducing longer prison sentences for people who assault prison officers or on-duty first responders such as paramedics and firefighters.
The proposals create a new, specific offence for assaults on first responders.
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith called such assaults “heinous”.
“Where others may flee, first responders and prisonofficers run towards danger to help those who need urgent assistance.
“Assaulting them puts multiple lives at risk, so there must be greater consequences for these heinous acts of violence.”
Assaulting a first responder or prison officer to have a maximum sentence of three years’ imprisonment. This expands an existing provision on assaulting police to cover all first responders and prison officers.
Assaulting a first responder or prison officer with intent to injure will have a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment. This is a two-year increase in penalty from the standard offence.
Injuring a first responder or prison officer with intent to injure will have a maximum sentence of seven years’ imprisonment and will be added to Three Strikes. This is also a two-year increase in penalty from the standard offence.
It comes as the Government’s harsher sentencing rules begin today. Goldsmith said the changes, which include capping the maximum discount judges can apply and preventing repeat discounts for youth and remorse, would stop “undue leniency” in sentencing.
“Communities and hardworking New Zealanders should not be made to live and work in fear of criminals who clearly have a flagrant disregard for the law, Corrections officers and the general public.
“We know that undue leniency has resulted in a loss of public confidence in sentencing and our justice system as a whole. We had developed a culture of excuses.”
The Government is also expected to announce more changes to justice legislation this coming week. The Herald understands one announcement has been proposed by the Ministerial Advisory Group for Retail Crime.
The group was established in July 2024, to address the rising issue of retail crime, particularly focusing on strengthening citizen’s arrest powers and use-of-force options for retailers and the public. The group is chaired by Sunny Kaushal.
The sentencing changes that come into effect today include capping the maximum discount a judge can apply at 40% with some exceptions.
Repeat discounts for youth (18 to 25) and remorse are gone, which Goldsmith said had allowed for “lenient sentences”. They are only available once and not for further offending.
A new aggravating factor has been introduced for offences against sole-charge workers and those whose homes and businesses are interconnected. This targets crimes that take place at a corner dairy, for example. This was part of the National-Act coalition agreement.
Sunny Kaushal. Photo / Jed Bradley
The use of cumulative sentencing for offences committed while on bail, in custody or on parole will be encouraged “to denounce behaviour that indicates a disregard for the criminal justice system”. This was part of the National-NZ First coalition agreement.
A “sliding scale” for early guilty pleas has been implemented with a maximum discount of 25%, reduced to a maximum of 5% for a guilty plea entered during the trial. Goldsmith said this would prevent undue discounts for late-stage guilty pleas and avoid unnecessary trials that are costly and stressful for victims.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon (second from right) and Police Commissioner Richard Chambers (from left) with Police Minister Mark Mitchell and Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith. Photo / Dean Purcell
The principles of sentencing have been amended so a judge has to take the victims’ interest into account.
Before the change, the principle required the judge to take into account information about the effect of the offending on the victim.
Green MP Lawrence Xu-Nan claimed the bill compromised New Zealand’s constitutional arrangement regarding the relationship between Parliament and the judiciary and believed it would do little to address the true drivers of crime.
Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism.
Joseph Los’e is an award winning journalist and joined NZME in 2022 as Kaupapa Māori Editor. Los’e was a chief reporter, news director at the Sunday News newspaper covering crime, justice and sport. He was also editor of the NZ Truth and prior to joining NZME worked for urban Māori organisation Whānau Waipareira.
