“ACT has today renewed our calls for a review of who is eligible for ankle bracelets after an 18-year-old received nine months home detention for the rapes of four teenagers,” says ACT Justice spokesperson Nicole McKee.

“As part of our Real Change: Law and Order paper released last month, ACT announced a policy to review who is eligible for ankle bracelets.

“At the start of this year, almost 6000 people were serving electronic monitoring sentences or orders.

“In the past five years there have been huge increases in the numbers of people on home detention for child sex offences, sex offences, gang members found guilty of violence offences and gang members who have attacked people with weapons.

“All of this after the Government sent a clear signal that it wants to go light on serious offenders after scrapping Three Strikes.

“There is a place for home detention in some cases. Just this week ACT suggested ankle bracelets for kids committing serious offences like ramraids. This would ensure a curfew is enforced, to make sure kids are at school and to separate young offenders.

“That is an entirely different prospect to rapists and people with serious violence convictions.

“The reaction from New Zealanders to a serious sexual offender being given home detention is clear. There is widespread outrage. At some point we need to ensure the judiciary is sentencing in line with community expectations.

“That’s why we need a review the use of electronic monitoring for violent and sexual offenders, and why we would abolish the prison population reduction target.

“ACT stands on the side of victims. New Zealanders who have been victims of crime deserve to feel safe knowing the offender is serving time, not just down the road in the comfort of their home.”

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