Community work: Half of offenders breach

Nearly half of Rotorua offenders ordered by the court to do community work in the past year have breached their sentence.
Figures released to The Daily Post by the Ministry of Justice show that of the 948 people sentenced to community work in the Rotorua District Court last year, 452 were "breached" by Community Corrections for failing to comply.
Sensible Sentencing Trust Rotorua spokesman, Peter Bentley said community work sentences kept offenders out of prison but if they breached or failed to comply, they needed to be jailed.
"If they don't learn they should certainly have a harsher lesson inflicted on them," he said.
"If they don't learn it's loss for the public and a win, win situation for the criminals."
Community Work may work for some first-time offenders but repeat offenders needed harsher penalties imposed on them so they would learn, Mr Bentley told The Daily Post.
"For a first-time offender, a short, sharp shock is possibly a good thing but for habitual people, it is never going to be successful," he said.
"Everyone is trying to reduce custodial sentences to the detriment of society. There are people who are committing 20 or 30 burglaries and yet they don't go to jail ... These people need a wake up call.
"Some of these people will never change their ways and if they aren't learning it needs to be a custodial sentence."
However, the president of the New Zealand Law Society, Jonathan Temm, said prison wasn't practical in all cases and wouldn't reduce crime.
"Jail is not the answer," he said.
"We need to focus on what the drivers of crime are ... If you want to deal with crime look at the rules around alcohol, the rules around drugs and employment. People who are busy investing in our communities are less likely to become offenders. The devil makes work for idle hands."
All prison did was produce "foot soldiers" for the gangs, Mr Temm said.
Currently there are about 10,000 prisoners in jail in New Zealand, costing the country $900 million annually to keep them locked up and both these numbers are rising.
"Our recidivism rates are climbing," he said.
It was unrealistic to expect the justice system was there to make an offender change their behaviour or conform, Mr Temm said.
"Prison doesn't stop crime and the expectation of the justice system is being eroded by people who have unrealistic expectations. [The justice system] isn't there to modify or regulate people's behaviour - it's not designed to do that," he said. "It can't deliver."
For repeat offenders, who refused to comply with penalties imposed by the courts though, jail may be the only answer, Mr Temm said.
"If they are in direct conflict with court orders then that has to be dealt with seriously."
The maximum total hours a judge, or community magistrate can sentence an offender to is 400 hours community work. Where a person is sentenced for two or more offences and is sentenced to community work for each offence, the sentences must be served concurrently unless the court directs they are to be served cumulatively. A cumulative sentence must not exceed 400 hours.
If an offender was to breach community work, the courts could impose another sentence including more hours, community detention, home detention or prison.