The addition of offenders who commit more serious crimes being diverted to Iwi Community Panels and away from formal charges being heard in court, shows the slow move towards the softening of law enforcement, says Darroch Ball co-leader of Sensible Sentencing Trust.

“We now have people who assault police officers, drug dealers, and even people with child exploitative images, being funneled through restorative justice panels and not being prosecuted through court."

“Of course there is an argument to be made about lower-level offending being dealt with outside of the overflowing court system, but offenders who commit these types of serious offences need to be properly held to account."

“The soft on crime movement has clearly started to be implemented across the board and offenders are starting to take advantage of it."

“It seems the panels are being used purely to unclog the courts and it will be to the detriment of public safety and justice," says Mr Ball.

“There is no need for the more serious crimes to be added to the list of charges that can be diverted to the panels and they need to be removed.

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