Labour Ministers must front up about their proposal for offenders imprisoned for up to two years to be automatically assumed to get released to home detention, says National’s Justice Spokesperson Paul Goldsmith says.

“Seven Cabinet papers were produced last year that, if adopted, would implement a legal presumption of home detention even when a judge decides a prison sentence is the most appropriate consequence for an offender.

“It is perverse that Labour is focused on softening consequences for criminals when violent crime has increased by 33 per cent under its watch.

“There are good reasons why prison and home detention are currently different types of sentences. Imprisonment more strongly denounces the crime and protects public safety compared with home detention.

“That is why when a male was found guilty of raping five 15-year-old women last year, many were outraged he received nine months home detention instead of a prison sentence, and the Solicitor-General sought to appeal the sentence.

“Labour is willing to jeopardise public safety to achieve its target of reducing the prison population by 30 per cent with no regard for the impact on crime and victims in our communities.

“These proposals only came to light after intervention from the Ombudsman, with Labour attempting to keep its moves secret. National will continue to fight for Labour’s full sentencing plans to be made public.

“Kiwis are increasingly worried about their safety. Labour should be transparent about its plan to downgrade judges’ discretion to imprison someone.

“National is clear. Softening sentences is no way to safely reduce the prison population. The way to reduce the prison population is to reduce crime.”