tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11906042.post113994670270043334..comments2024-03-22T11:55:50.335+13:00Comments on Not PC: Lock 'em up. Free the others.Peter Cresswellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10699845031503699181noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11906042.post-1141023012019762752006-02-27T19:50:00.000+13:002006-02-27T19:50:00.000+13:00This may be an old post but recently I read/saw so...This may be an old post but recently I read/saw some crime stats for n.z and they ( justice dept, statistics nz?) tried to claim that only 6% of inmates were locked up for drug offences.<BR/><BR/>I would say these stats were a load of bs for a number of reasons. First reason would be the stats are out of date and do not reflect the current popularity of the A class drug meth/P. The fairly recent re-classifying of meth from a class B into a class A drug and the rather dramatic increase in penaltys for manufacturers and suppliers, plus the huge increase in the number of manufacturers and suppliers getting busted have yet to flow through into prison muster stats.<BR/><BR/>Also the prison offender stats in relation to theft/dishonesty do not take into account that many criminals commit their crimes to pay for drug debts/drug habits.<BR/><BR/>Prohibition has a huge downstream crime creating effect and also brings the drug supply scene under the controll of criminals.<BR/><BR/>It is the interface between between recreational drug users and crime.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11906042.post-1140046278185259342006-02-16T12:31:00.000+13:002006-02-16T12:31:00.000+13:00Good question, Mark. NZ has arguably more vicious...Good question, Mark. NZ has arguably more vicious anti-drug laws than the US. NORML points out that "New Zealand has the highest recorded cannabis arrest rate in the world, at 606 people arrested per 100,000 population per year. The United States is second with 247 arrests per 100,000 population per year."<BR/><BR/>Not a great statistic in which to come first. <A HREF="http://www.norml.org.nz/modules.php?name=Arrest-o-meter" REL="nofollow">NORML's Cannabis Arrest-o-Meter</A> shows too that there have been 123,303 cannbais offences since Labour came to power,and that cannabis offences number just over 80% of all drug offences. So that's an awful lot of victimless arrests.<BR/><BR/>As for the prison population, I confess I was relying on US stats, and memories of checking figures here some years back. However, if you check the <A HREF="http://www.corrections.govt.nz/public/aboutus/servicegroupprofiles/publicprisonsservice/" REL="nofollow">recent NZ Corrections Dept stats</A> it looks like I was incorrect to say a third. Of 6,250 prisoners (costing taxpayers $56,575 per year) they suggest just nine percent of male offenders are incarcerated for drug offences, and eight percent for traffic offences. ["The main reasons for male imprisonment are: 39 percent for violence offences; 22 percent for sexual violence offences; 22 for property offences (e.g. burglary), 9 percent for drug offences; 8 percent for traffic offences."] So that makes fifty-six victims of drug laws (iff they had committed no other offence), and perhaps a few more in other categories. <BR/><BR/>So is the NZ figure a third then? I confess I don't know. It would be worth trying to establish an exact figure. Shall we say one-tenth?Peter Cresswellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10699845031503699181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11906042.post-1140033188391590042006-02-16T08:53:00.000+13:002006-02-16T08:53:00.000+13:00Do you have a source for your claim that one third...Do you have a source for your claim that one third of prisoners have committed a victimless crime? It may be true in the US, with its rather vicious anti drug laws, but I don't believe it is the case in NZ.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com