Fewer parole hearings

John Hartevelt at Stuff reports:

Prisoners will get less regular parole hearings under changes announced by the Government.

Justice Minister Judith Collins and acting Corrections Minister Chester Borrows this morning announced the maximum gap between parole hearings for offenders would be extended from one to two years.

The maximum postponement period for offenders serving indeterminate sentences, and determinate sentences of 10 or more years, would also be extended from three to five years.

The changes would mean offenders with little chance of release would get fewer ”unnecessary parole hearings”, Collins said.

I think this is a humane thing to do. Victims and their families get retraumatised when they get notified of parole hearings and have to decide whether to submit, actually appear and/or will the offender get released.

Now these are maximum, not minimum, intervals. Those with a realistic chance of parole will still get their hearings, but there are a fair few prisoners for whom it is clear they are not going to get parole, and going through the formality of a hearing and submissions is needless torment for the victims and their family.