Paul Goldsmith Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The government is introducing a new aggravating factor targeting offences against small business owners whose homes and businesses are interconnected.
The reform is one of the items listed in the coalition agreement between National and New Zealand First.
This comes after new sentencing reforms that prioritise victims and impose tougher consequences for criminals have passed the first reading in Parliament.
The Indian business community is likely to benefit from the reforms, as nearly a quarter of aggravated robbery victims in 2023 were of Indian origin.
Data from Victim Support in March revealed that the Indian community was disproportionately affected by aggravated robberies last year.
"Twenty-four percent of aggravated robbery victims referred to Victim Support in 2023 were from the Indian community," the organisation said.
Earlier, Indian community leaders expressed disappointment over the government's response to law and order, despite recent announcements addressing crime.
Recently, South Auckland households shared their growing concerns about safety in the region.
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said courts have been issuing fewer and shorter prison sentences despite a 33 percent increase in violent crime, describing it as a troubling trend.
"We must restore confidence in our justice system to denounce and deter criminal activity," Goldsmith said.
Other reforms in the works include the introduction of a sliding scale for early guilty pleas and the offer of a maximum 25 percent sentence reduction for early pleas, decreasing to 5 percent if entered upon trial.
These amendments aimed to prevent excessive discounts for late pleas and, in doing so, avoid costly, stressful trials for victims.
The principles of sentencing will also be amended to require courts to consider any information provided about victims' interests.
The government is encouraging the use of cumulative sentencing for offences committed while on bail, in custody or on parole to denounce behaviour that shows a disregard for the justice system.
Additionally, judges will be limited to a 40 percent cap on sentence discounts, except in cases where it would result in manifestly unjust outcomes.
Another reform aims to prevent repeated discounts for young offenders and expressions of remorse.
Goldsmith said lenient sentences were failing to deter offenders, many of whom rely on their youth or expressions of remorse without a genuine attempt to reform their behaviour.
"Two new aggravating factors are also included in the bill," he says.
These targeted adults who exploited children and young people by encouraging them to offend, and offenders who glorified their crimes by livestreaming or posting them online.
"Communities and hardworking Kiwis should not be made to live and work in fear of these offenders who clearly have a flagrant disregard for the law, corrections officers and the general public," Goldsmith said.
"These reforms will help ensure there are 20,000 fewer victims of violent crime by 2029, alongside a 15 percent reduction in serious repeat youth offending."
