Tim Beveridge: Our justice system doesn't deter violence

It seems like far too often we’re reading a new headline about another violent crime — another murder. And it’s hard to keep up. 

But every now and again, a crime seizes your attention and makes you ask if we're heading in the right direction when it comes to addressing violent crime in New Zealand. And that case, for me, is the murder — or should I say the alleged murder — of American entomology student Kyle Whorrall.

And often, I think, when we hear about violent crimes, we try to comfort ourselves with the assumption that they’re confined to the criminal underworld — gang-on-gang, drug deals gone wrong, or some other context that feels far removed. And if we can keep our distance from that world, we’re somehow safe. An illusion of security that, perhaps, helps us sleep at night. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:09):
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Speaker 2 (00:16):
It seems too often we're reading these headlines about another
violent crime, another murder, and it is hard to keep up.
But every now and again, there's a crime that happens
that just grabs your attention, makes you wondering if we're
heading in the right direction when it comes to addressing
violent crime in New Zealand. For me, that crime was
the murder or should I say, the alleged murder of
American entomology student Kyle Warrel. And thinking about it, you know,

(00:39):
we often hear about crimes where we think and well,
hopefully it's gang on gang or a drug deal gone wrong,
and it feels a degree removed. But that illusion of security,
I don't know if we have it so much with
the news that a sixteen year old is now being
charged with the aggravated robbery and murder of Kyle Warrel,
and I found myself increasingly of the view that our

(00:59):
justice system simply isn't delivering sentences that act as any
sort of deterrent. Of course, you've got to have a progress,
a process, should we say and we shouldn't get ahead
of ourselves with assuming guilt. But if someone has found accountable,
what real chance do you think there's going to be
a sentence that is any sort of deterrent in a
society that's becoming more brazen and more violent. Because what

(01:21):
happens is what will happen, is the focus shifts to
the accused until all the terrible reasons they've ended up
where they are, and the discounts start rolling in. We've
got age, remorse, the troubled upbringing, maybe even a guilty plea,
and well they're soap called prospects for rehabilitation. Before you
know it, the sentence is chipped away discount after discount,
and they're unholded home detention after barely a couple of

(01:42):
years inside. Meanwhile, for the victim, there's no second chance.
He's dead. There's no chance to make a submission to
the court to try and mitigate the outcome. He's dead.
He can't make a plea that his life was only
just getting underway because he's dead. And I'm sorry that
does sound jarring, doesn't it, But maybe it should because
we like to dress up tragedies and like this in
euphemisms and euphemism so we can soften the blow, but

(02:04):
there's no cushioningness. Kyle Warrell has died and is dead,
and he shouldn't be and I'm sorry, But when it
comes to our justice system, in my view, it's doing
bugger all to send any message that violent crime isn't tolerated.
Just ask any police officer who spent time dealing with
this stuff. So yes, I'm all for harder sentences, sentences
with consequences that send that unequivocal message around violent crime

(02:26):
because the murder victim gets no say in how things
play out, no play mitigation. So when it comes to
the perporotrada of this crime, I'm not interested in their tears.
I'm not interested in their regrets. I'm interested in seeing
a sentence that actually acknowledges what's happened and maybe sends
a message that this stuff is not okay when someone's

(02:46):
life cut is cut so brutally and tragically.

Speaker 1 (02:49):
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