There's no more hiding, Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis will clearly fail to deliver on his promise to reduce the prison population according to Ministry of Justice projections released today, National's Corrections spokesperson Simeon Brown says.
"Kelvin Davis made a grand promise to reduce the prison population by 30 per cent over 15 years. But the Ministry of Justice projects the prison population will continue to rise over coming years, hitting 11,400 by 2029 and directly contradicting the Governments commitments.
"The Minister promised big changes, but has failed to deliver during his tenure with the total prison population projected to continue to rise, and the number of remand prisoners expected to double.
"After being in the job for almost three years Kelvin Davis has yet to put forward any credible plans to reduce the prison population and his Government hasn't come up with any strategies to reduce crime.
"This is par for the course for Kelvin Davis, but even though he continues to fail to deliver on his promises, he needs to be held to account over them.
"About 75 per cent of prisoners are locked up for serious, violent offences. Public safety should never be compromised in an unrealistic attempt to reduce the prison population without reducing crime as well.
"The only thing Kelvin Davis can deliver is broken promises. National believes that public safety must come first and foremost. We are the Party of law and order and we will keep New Zealanders safe."
