Labour’s unfortunate experiment
The -38% drop in sentenced prisoner numbers from 2017 to 2022 was on a scale that hasn't been seen in
— Charted Daily (@Charteddaily) April 1, 2025for at least 80 years. It was an extraordinary experiment in justice policy. pic.twitter.com/S9RBPEGMeE
In 2017, the geniuses of the Labour Party decided to have an experiment. They said, let’s cut the prison population by 30%. Someone (hopefully) said, you mean by reducing serious crime by 30%? But the geniuses said, no no – just cut the prison population by 30%, regardless of whether people are committing serious violent and sexual crimes.
It was the law & order version of the unfortunate experiment. They opened the doors, and New Zealanders suffered the consequences.
Violent offences increased from 50,110 in 2017 to 76,808 in 2023 – an increase of 53%.
Sexual offences increased from 5,952 in 2017 to 7,312 in 2023 – an increase of 23%.
This is the price New Zealanders paid for Labour’s unfortunate experiment of trying to empty the prisons.