Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis continues to let down victims of crime, as more than half of those who received Community Work sentences over lockdown have not met the terms of their sentence, National’s Corrections spokesperson Simeon Brown says.

“Kelvin Davis confirmed more than half of the 5500 offenders who received a reduction in their Community Service hours had failed to report for Community Service during the two months leading up to the Level 4 lockdown.

“During the lockdown, the Government had two options when dealing with parolees and their community service sentences. One was to extend the amount of time the parolee had to complete their community service, the other was to wipe off hours and reduce the sentence.

“Kelvin Davis chose to wipe more than 138,000 hours off more than 5000 sentences. It’s unacceptable the Minister would use his power to benefit criminals who hadn’t abided by the terms of their sentence.

“The Minister is responsible for these offenders and ensuring they complete the sentence the Courts have passed down. That is his job.

“Letting these offenders get away with reduced sentences, especially those who failed to report for any Community Service, diminishes the crimes they have committed and the harm they have caused.

“Victims should be at the heart of our justice system, and right now Kelvin Davis is letting them down.

“At the end of the day, if you do the crime, you should do the time. National is the Party of law and order. We expect criminals to complete their Court imposed sentences, and we expect the Minister to do his job and ensure that happens.”