Current punishments for small crimes is too weak ?

On average, everyone agrees with significant nonconsensus between 342 voters.

Reasons To Disagree

Penalties often punish the taxpayer rather than the criminal. Fines paid by installment are often never paid in full. Fines should by court order be deducted from wages or social welfare benefit.

I agree with previous statement wholeheartedly. Paying off fines/installments don't work in our society - we feel sorry for everyone in this country and it left to slide. Perhaps if a scheme was implemented whereby the likes of graffiti, shoplifting etc were recognised as minor but meant potential hard yards (scrubbing, painting, cleaning) i bet small crime would lessen. Issuing warnings, penalities/fines is a nice little revenue earner but it doesn't help the victims once again in getting their wall painted free of tagging, their shop goods back.

Get realistic.

Reasons To Agree

Being sentenced to a handful of hours of community service would be like a holiday for me. Give these crims some serious work to do or lock them up.

its a slap on there hands so most dont take it in harsher punishments will make them think twice

Right now we have a fruit industry desperate for an additional 12000 workers. Other seasonal work has the same labour shortages. If petty criminals were made to work as their punishment and the wages received were to go back into the system, we would as a nation, benefit twofold

If all young maori were taught to respect other people's property and rights and were given better boundaries, we wouldn't have so much crime. Scrap the treaty and let's get on with the war.....

The problem isn't so much the punishments, it's the system of carrying them out: peoplenotdoing their community service or paying their fines etc.

Slap hands kindly mum, Give little crim a cake and a bun! Arguably, a first offender may be frightened off by mere prosecution with a light penalty - but not when it is obvious that subsequent offences will also be similarly "punished". And now the really small crimes cannot be punished in the most effective manner - by a smack - so impunity from punishment will be learned even earlier.

the punishments aren't swift and meaningful. they drag on, and are presented as dollars. make it quick, make it meaningful.

But prison is not the answer. Hit them severely in the pocket.

To many crimes are happening, they need to be reduced and the best way to do that is increase the punishment.

If they are not weak then shouldn't are crime rate be going down not up.

I've just been advised by the Police that they will not prosecute a fraud by a trustee of $1000 on my late mothers estate...cos it was minor

The current punishment is way way too weak... It is too lineant. I have been living here for almost 10 years and I noticed that as years gone by more and more crimes are happening. Nowadays criminals even have access to guns... I think harsher punishment and also death penalty is a must for killers and people that sell drugs. Should adopt harsh law like china to make nz safe like years ago. Fines and community work is too nice of a punishment.

Make em bust rocks day in day out till their sentence is completed in full. Bet they dont reoffend.