Government hails supposed turnaround in prisoner population, but National says the numbers are PR spin

New bail measures and a faster, more efficient system are being lauded as playing a significant role in reducing the statistics.

A supposed rapid turnaround in our prison population has been hailed by the Government just months after numbers hit a record high.

New figures show there were 10,707 inmates in April this year but that dropped by 525 to 10,182 inmates in August.

Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis told 1 NEWS that the Government was doing what it promised.

“We said when we came into Government that we would reduce the prison population by 30 percent over 15 years and we've started to do that,” Mr Davis said.

But National leader Simon Bridges said it was “pure spin by the Government” and the prison population had gone up by 50 inmates compared to this time last year.

“It’s spin to say anything other than you’ve got some seasonal variation,” Mr Bridges said.

Corrections said the recent drop is partly down to its new high impact innovation programme, which it said was speeding up the court process and making it easier for those needing electronic bail to navigate the system.

It said it was also offering more support like rehabilitation once prisoners are released back into the community.

“I hope it (the inmate reduction) continues for a long time yet but to be realistic it will probably start to plateau but this is where Corrections have started to think about other ideas,” Mr Davis said.

Mr Bridges said the Government seems “very bullish about the prison projections and their ability to get them down”.

“I can’t see how they will from administrative changes and new process. Actually their real plan I think is to lighten up the sentences but that will mean fewer prisoners more victims,” Mr Bridges said.

The Government has appointed an advisory group to review the criminal justice system.

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