From Habitual Criminals to Reformative Detention: The Origins of the Modern Punishment System of New Zealand (From Criminal Justice History: An International Annual, Volume 11, P 55-87, 1990 Louis A Knafla, ed. -- See NCJ-136046)

• NCJ Number: 136049
• Author(s): J Pratt
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 33 pages
• Sale Source: Meckler Publishing
• Publication Type: Historical Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Corrections policies and correctional reforms in New Zealand are examined with emphasis on the origins of the rehabilitative focus that was central during most of the 20th century.

Abstract

A European system of justice was developed in the new colony starting in 1840 which replaced the "popular justice" practices of the first white settlers and the "native customs" of the indigenous Maori. Captain William Hume, the first Inspector-General of Prisons, had a major influence on penal policy during the 1880-1909 period. The Habitual Criminals Act of 1906 and the Crimes Act Amendment of 1910 demonstrate the major change in punishment systems that occurred at the turn of century. The 1906 law allowed habitual offenders a form of indeterminate sentence to be served after a determinate prison sentence. In contrast, the 1910 law permitted indeterminate sentences for the entire criminal population without a prior determinate sentence. These law reforms reflected the growing criticism of classical punishment as inefficient, inhumane, and ineffective. The 1910 law embodied the prevailing view that the indeterminate sentence should be a strategy of reform rather than a means of indefinite incarceration. Through this and subsequent developments, New Zealand joined what seemed at the time to be a worldwide commitment to the pursuit of criminological analysis. 130 reference notes