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dean1968
21st December 2006, 02:41 AM
Another tourist raped out venture walking by herself which is becoming problematic and saddens me. I blame the tourist industry for not doing enough... to warn people of the dangers. Below they list the dangers for venture tourism but not about crime here. On average every year an innocent couple (tourrist) is abducted raped and usually murdered. These are the people I feel sorry for...

There is a darwin award which honors those people who remove themselves from the gene pool ensuring that the next generation is one idiot smarter. I have no time for those tourists who visit NZ and do the most absolutely stupid things; such as walking past a safety barrier and then decide to get up close personal with a glacier and have a big chuck of ice around 400kg topple on top their head and kill them. Or visitors getting lost in the bush (risk other people lives looking for them and the cost is astronomical) and talking no survival gear - govt thinking of regulating and forcing people to have gps. Travelling across a dry river bed (warning signs) and a flash flood kill them. Every year Mt Cook our highest mountain gets an "experience mountaineer climber" killed on average, even though warnings are issue in advance about avalanche and weather conditions which they ignore at their peril. The list goes on and on. I can think of a tourist who wanted to kayak over a water riverfall again ignoring warning signs - end result the force of the water suction held him down till he drowned.

My concern is the innocent tourist who thinks NZ is crime free and very safe In my opinion I think Japanese tourists have too high opinion in that regard.At least their tourism industry bring them out in groups. They usually travel in safelyy - in numbers by coaches or tour package groups. We need warning signs to selected groups in particular, gullible tourists being targeted by serial predators. They warn tourists about leaving valuables in their cars, signs are posted everywhere. (Crooks are not stupid, "Show me the money spots") People are warned about their valuables when they visit popular vacation spots but don't warn ignorant tourists about thier lives being in jeopardy.

A prominent judge who has just retired and usually they gagged in office; it is only in there farewell speak that they can talk openly. Has said "he doesn't feel safe walking in his own city at night" and the MAyor of that city says "its crap." I would like that mayor then to have his wife, daughter or son walk alone at night in his safe city. The police are streched to the limit. The police cannot even handle urgent or emergency call outs. Police have commented on burgalaries and lesser crimes like car break ins which are commited by juvenile offenders. Because of their age they are most likely to end up in youth court and do seldom more than 3 months in a bostal. It is a revolving door the police catch them and they are the same offenders and the severitry of thre crime goes unpunished. Regarding home invasion that is considered a more serious offence;police have admitted themselves that they cannot always get their quickly enough. Just not enough police on duty or squad cards etc.

l I tend to side with the judge who is suppose to be locking criminals up when he said, "He doesn't feel safe walking in his own city at night."I want to mention some of the issues that are causing major concern with the judges. Another judge wh has just retire recently wants to bring into evidence a previous offender's criminal history. Usually the jurors have no knowledge of an accused previous criminal history. The prosecution want to show case history now... to get more convictions. A judge could decide if its relevant to the case. A convicted rapist now accused of a new rape / crime murder in a high profile trial could have his criminal history presented by the prosecution to the jury. A swedish couple were abducted / murdered and the offender already had a previous conviction of a rape. "Beyond a reasonable doubt" goes out the window and doesn't play on the minds of jurors thinking are they convicting an inncoent person. Jurors can weigh the evidence with case hostroy of a previous conviction. Career criminals just don't start off with a murder they have a heap of convictions prior to that.

This is a fact. Judges have been told to let criminals out of jail. The jails are absolutely full. Police have to put really bad criminals back on the street who shouldn't even have bale. Others are in holding cells. A holding cell is temporary cell. The next one is to put offenders on home detention these are lesser criminals but some of them are really bad who shouldn't be at home. The govt is revoking or moving it from corrections who determines home dentention because they have not had enough put on home detention. They need to free up space in the jails.Another one is periodic detention - criminals doing commiunity service. This was costing money and the govt try to cut back on this expense as well. Please believe me when I tell you you wouldn;t want some of them doing painting or clearing rubbbish who are high risk offenders on community projects like schools etc. You can get away with murder just about in the country. Really high profile murderers who have done really nasty stuff are getting longer sentences. But the majority it is lesser sentences. IT costs $50,ooo a year to house a criminal in jail. NZ has the second highest per capita per person in jail behind the USA. But t the moment the govt doesn't want to build more prisons. Nor does anyone want a new prison in their backyard and spending money on criminals is not palatable with the public. So the govt is doing a quick fix solution and letting them out. Some of the crimes are despicable I can name some of them. If you get 6 years you can do max of 2.5 for good behaviour with home dentetion thrown in. You waer a bracelet and carry on as if you in prison by staying at home. It is a joke.

Tourists come here with high expectations about NZ being crime free and I think they are sadly mistaken. A case in point I met 2 Scandanivian tourists and they were planning to hitch hike across NZ and I told them they were crazy... that it was lure lunacy. I told them, You "stand out llike a sore thumb. You don't even blend in - clothing wise, language, ethnicity. You don't fit in nor do you know your way around here or anywhere or places that are safe etc." I said to them, "Do you think I could safely hitch hike across your country and they said, "no". I said, "There we go then." Ignorance is bless.

Want is happening now is that our career criminals are starting off on small offences and moving upward. It is a revolving door / prison. I thinks it irresponsible for some sectors of the community who are not warning people of the dangers when they come here. Unfortunately nothing will happen....

stu70
21st December 2006, 02:59 AM
I believe in multipronged attack on this menace of criminality that resides with humanity whether it is NZ or US. First, very very strict punishments are in order(no just slapping on the wrist). Add to that a genuine effort to implement poverty eradication programs, educational programs for populations at higher risk, mandatory sentences for offences for crimes that are violent. Unless the society makes a real effort in uplifting the "at risk communities", you will never have a lasting solution. In the short term, bring back tourist education programs whereby all visitors know of the dangers of doing certain things that you mentioned (and which some tourists foolishly do). Hope they catch responsible for this act and put them in the slammer for life. There is NO excuse for rapes in our world.

stu70
21st December 2006, 03:32 AM
Just another point I thought I'd bring up here. There are very deep and historical reasons for certain communities to be involved more in criminal activity than say others (proportionately speaking); take example of African Amreicans in North America or Maoris in NZ or First Nations in Canada. They were all forced to abandon their culture all those years ago when Europeans took possession of their land, and their resources (or in case of Africans, they were forced to leave their homeland and brought into foreign lands as slaves). Once people lose touch with their culture, they lose faith in themselves. Once they lose faith in themselves, they become a menace to others in a community. It is time for "advanced" nations to adopt a rather holistic and balanced approach. Encourage these groups to reclaim their lost heritage. Make them feel like they are part of something, that their lives have meaning too. I bet the dollars spent on these things would be far better than just rounding them up and throwing them in jails. Just my 2 cents.

Ana&Steve
21st December 2006, 05:55 AM
Death Penalty for the rape of a man, woman, or child. There is just no excuse for rape, period.
Ana

veronica
21st December 2006, 06:06 AM
if you want to go back in time to lost cultures etc then consider that England has been invaded and occupied on numerous occasions and so have most European countries. does this then mean that us Europeans can go on a criminal rampage!!!

Whats past is past and can't be changed and its about time that everybody lived in the present and just got on with the life THEY have. We are here now....deal with it.

There is no excuse for random violence and rape and like most of us I feel that the penalties are too light in crimes against persons. We each choose the actions we take and should be prepared to take the reactions that result from it.

StevieD
21st December 2006, 06:14 AM
Ooer, I can see another heated debate thread coming on. Sad fact is, said many times before, crime is everywhere human beings exist. It is human nature to better others, compete, or just plain bully. It happens in the animal kingdom, so why are we going to be any different?

I can understand your anger, it really winds me up the wrong way too. But NZ is no exception to the rest of the globe. Slavery still exists today too, and is often perpetrated by the very people themselves, as it was in Africa all those years ago. It is happening in eastern Europe, China, Africa, the middle East. Very sad, and it will take an awful lot of will power from the elected governments of the world to halt it - but I suspect that it won't be that high on the agenda, it is only people's lives, not oil, which seems to be the main driving force of many governments these days.... on that note I am off.

Anita & Marco
21st December 2006, 06:14 AM
Death Penalty for the rape of a man, woman, or child. There is just no excuse for rape, period.
Ana

Did it every cross your mind that 'death penalty' means that you will be criminal too???
A society that uses this is a criminal society - best example: USA.
You must know what death penalty means; really disgusting to read someone mentioning these words on this forum.

Ana&Steve
21st December 2006, 06:31 AM
I know there are excuses and chances for redemption for many crimes. Rape isn't one of them in my eyes. Rapists are sick in their heads, and I also recommend euthanizing rabid dogs, as nether is safe for society. I feel that such a severe consequence could cut the number of rapes by quite a bit, and any reduction in such a crime is a good thing. I am not suggesting capitol punishment for other crimes, just a most heinous an unredeemable one.
Sorry the phrase "death penalty" disgusts you, reading "raped and murdered" pretty much did it for me.
Ana
Are opinions and disagreements still allowed on this forum?

Anita & Marco
21st December 2006, 06:41 AM
I guess all opinions are still allowed, otherwise it is of no use to have a forum - although I do not think you can compare dogs with people!!
And it surprises me that you can defend death penalty when you know about the consequences and problems around that from your own country.
I think it is very uncivilised to have a death penalty - it reminds me of the dark middle ages in Europe (of course I know a lot of the European countries only came to terms with the death penalty just in the last century and are even talking about getting it back into the system).

Have you every heard about how many innocent people are on death row and how many innocent people have been killed by governments?! It is not my only reason to be against it, but this one is already enough for me to object to any death penalty. I do not want to become a murderer myself!


=== sorry, maybe we are too far away from the original subject now ====

Ana&Steve
21st December 2006, 07:28 AM
I guess all opinions are still allowed, otherwise it is of no use to have a forum - although I do not think you can compare dogs with people!!
And it surprises me that you can defend death penalty when you know about the consequences and problems around that from your own country.
I think it is very uncivilised to have a death penalty - it reminds me of the dark middle ages in Europe (of course I know a lot of the European countries only came to terms with the death penalty just in the last century and are even talking about getting it back into the system).

Have you every heard about how many innocent people are on death row and how many innocent people have been killed by governments?! It is not my only reason to be against it, but this one is already enough for me to object to any death penalty. I do not want to become a murderer myself!


=== sorry, maybe we are too far away from the original subject now ====
I know about the problems in the US pertaining to our entire justice system, about the innocent punished and the guilty going free to break the law again. I know that there is no cut and dry, black and white answer to the problems that plague society. I'd like to state clearly that I don't relish death in a blood-thirsty frenzy, and I don't suggest punishment on the mere accusation of a crime. the US justice system is very corrupt and broken. There are many people sitting on death row, and few of them will ever receive that final punishment. I think that our capital punishment system is completely ineffective as a deterrent, as criminals know they can appeal, or get expensive lawyers (OJ Simpson) to get them off. I don't understand why Charles Mason gets to live, while Tookie Williams was put to death. I only know that I feel that convicted rapists, people who take from their victims their, life, their dreams, their bodies, should no longer plague society and live off of our taxes. I do compare rapists to dogs, dogs do not understand human nuances, and rabid dogs are incapable of respecting the pulse of society. It is a hard subject, and I would not have voiced my opinions to the forum if I hadn't read the article, but I felt compelled to after this thread combined with the one a few months ago, about the honeymooners. I have many friends who don't feel the same way, and Anita, I hope you don't hold my opinions against me any more than my friends do.
Ana

StevieD
21st December 2006, 08:11 AM
And how many innocent people and children have been killed by rapists and murderers??

What is the answer? There will always be lively discussion on this subject, and I don't find it disgusting that someone mentioned it on this forum, after all, that is what it is, a forum.

stu70
21st December 2006, 09:21 AM
If life were that simple;If only a few death penalties would cure all the ills of the world. Capital punishment in America is for those without capital as they say. Don't fool yourself into thinking that by hanging a few people you will make it a safer world. Humans need to be smarter than that. Deal with the real issues and address those. Being RAMBO does NOTHING (except in movies). And for those who say "get on with life" and never worry about the past mistakes of the colonizers, you are just as prone to getting hit by sustained violence in the future as you are today. America (most states) has death penalty and it is one of the most violent places on this earth. Sorry, as bad as crimes are, solution ain't some quickie in the form of a firing squad or some injection that sometimes deosn't even work(look at Florida).

Ana&Steve
21st December 2006, 04:06 PM
If life were that simple;If only a few death penalties would cure all the ills of the world.
I agree that the death penalty won't cure the world, and it would be better to cure the illness in the criminal mind that causes a person to commit twisted acts of violence. If we could do that, there would be nothing to disagree on. (I could also wish that everyone could grow up in stable, loving homes, never suffering abuse or neglect, further nipping future crime in the bud)
I think a lot of the USA's violence stems from a wishy-washy system with many loopholes to navigate, and we constantly change the punishment laws, so many times petty thieves end up with the murderers and rapists and vise-versa. By the time a small-time crook gets out of prison, s/he's conditioned for something hardcore. I would love to have an incarceration system truly geared towards rehabilitation, but very few societies have achieved this.
Sorry, as bad as crimes are, solution ain't some quickie in the form of a firing squad or some injection that sometimes deosn't even work(look at Florida).
Again I agree that there is no one applicable solution that will cure crime, but I also believe societies will be stronger for having clear consequences for crimes committed against them, and that criminals do lose rights related to their crimes, as a punishment to them, and as a deterrent for future criminals. Condemned criminals don't deserve a botched lethal injection, anymore than a patient in a hospital deserves having the wrong leg amputated; terrible mistakes happen, and we can only work harder to prevent them.
Wow this is a depressing thread that makes it sound like there is evil everywhere; I'm going to go watch "Friends" and forget for a while.....
Ana

Caroline and Dave
21st December 2006, 06:44 PM
I disagree with the death penalty because I feel that for the type of people who deserve the death penalty it is a get out for them.Take Harold Shipman and Fred West,both of whom commited suicide after commiting the most terrible crimes. They wanted to die and they escaped many years of being abused by other inmates getting their revenge.
Ian Huntley is on 24 hour suicide watch for what he did and is desperate to end his life. To commit these sort of people to death is wrong. They should be made to suffer and not lead a life of luxury in a prison neither.
If I had commited such bad crimes I would want to die rather than years of torment in a prison.This is just my opinion


Dave and Caroline

Sorry,wrong avatar for this type of post

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