NCJ Number
145281
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 57 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1993) Pages: 59-66
Date Published
1993
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Characteristics of the corrections institution, inmate population, and sentencing trends in New Zealand are discussed.
Abstract
As of March 1993, prison inmates in New Zealand numbered 4,608, or 136 per 100,000. This incarceration rate is low compared to that of the United States (504 per 100,000), but higher than that of most other Western nations. As in the U.S., most inmates in New Zealand do not serve their full sentence. Between 1985 and 1991, a rise in violent crime coupled with a hardening of court attitudes led to a 43-percent increase in the length of finite sentences. Still, sentences are comparatively short. Prisons offer a wide range of recreational, educational, spiritual, and cultural programs; there are few escapes, and the incidence of prison violence is low. In order to maintain quality and availability of services despite the inmate population surge, more prisons are being built and as many offenders as possible are being diverted from prison. This response contrasts that of the United States, which tends toward reduction of inmate services. 7 endnotes and 16 references