The new penology in New Zealand : the Crimes Amendment Act 1910

Abstract

This thesis is an examination of an Act - the Crimes Amendment Act 1910 - hitherto relatively unexplored by commentators on the New Zealand penal system. The Act was an embodiment in statutory form of the principles of the 'new penology' - a contemporary doctrine that regarded the purpose of imprisonment to be to protect society. This protection was to be afforded by the provision of reformative treatment, which it was envisaged would reclaim the prisoner. If he failed to respond to treatment a prisoner was to be kept locked away indefinitely. A fundamental tenet of the new penology, and indeed the foundation of the reformatory system, was the accompanying use of the indeterminate sentence whereby an incentive to reform - the opportunity of earning release through one's own labours - was presented to the prisoner. The thesis traces the origins and development of the new penology overseas, before examining the activities of the New Zealand advocates of the new penology both in and outside parliament. The acceptance and approval of the doctrine that they won culminated in the introduction to parliament of the Crimes Amendment Bill in 1910. The debate on the Bill is examined in detail, with particular attention being given to the reasons for the members' almost unanimous acceptance of the principles of the new penology, their criticism of a few of the clauses, and the results they envisaged the Act would achieve. Their criticism and expectations are further considered in an examination of both the mechanics of the Act - in particular the extent to which the fundamental principles underlying the new penology were implemented - and its operation within the New Zealand penal framework for thirty-nine years. The thesis thus analyses the most revolutionary penal measure introduced in the New Zealand parliament - it examines why it was introduced; why it was framed in the terms it was; what it was intended to achieve; why it received such widespread approval; its functioning within the New Zealand penal system; and why it was successful.