Sensible Sentencing Trust

The Sensible Sentencing Trust is a political advocacy group based in Napier, New Zealand. The Trust states its vision as "A Safe New Zealand" and its mission as "to obtain a large base of community support, and ensure safety for all New Zealanders from violent and criminal offending, through education, development of effective penal policies, and the promotion of responsible behaviour, accountable parenting, and respect for each other at all levels of society."[1] The trust was formed by Garth McVicar in 2001 in response to the police prosecution of Mark Middleton for threatening to kill Paul Dally who tortured, raped, and killed Middleton's 13-year-old stepdaughter Karla Cardno in 1989.[2]

The Sensible Sentencing Trust logo.

The trust claimed to have been instrumental in getting major changes in the New Zealand justice system by gaining public and government support for changes including:

1. Increase in the sentence for murder from 10 years to 17 years in late 2002. [3]

2. Bail reforms (2007) which reversed the onus for bail in cases of violent, sexual and drug offenders who then had to convince the court of their future good behaviour or bail would be declined. The trust claimed public safety would be increased as a result. [4]

3. A three strikes law (2010) which provided for progressively increased sentencing for repeat offenders within a category of 40 listed violent and sexual offences. The trust claimed increased public safety would result by removing high risk offenders off the streets for longer periods. [5]

The trust also began an on-line offender database in early 2002 in response to the refusal by government to undertake this task, in spite of repeated requests to do so. [6]

The trust justified the decision to launch its own offender database because it said that members of the public (with some emphasis on parents and children), needed to be able to keep themselves and their children safe from violent and sexual predators and knowing who and where they were was essential knowledge to do that.

In 2010, the Trust's tax-free charitable status was revoked by the Charities Commission, on the grounds that it had become a political lobby group rather than a charity. [7]

This was contested by the Trust, following which the Trust split into two separate trusts. [8]

(1) The Sensible Sentencing Trust (SST) which advocates on behalf of victims of serious violent and/or sexual crime and homicide in New Zealand. SST is a registered charitable trust which does not have donee status with the Inland Revenue Department.

(2) The Sensible Sentencing Group Trust (SSGT) which serves to educate the public as to the plight of victims and to ensure such victims and their families are fully aware of their rights and entitlements, providing both education and practical support during their time of trauma. SSGT is a registered charitable trust which has donee status with the Inland Revenue Department.

The Trust was a registered electoral promoter at the 2011 general election.[9] The Trust did not register as a promoter for the 2014 general election, but founder McVicar contended the Napier electorate and the party list as a member of the Conservative Party.[10]

In 2018, the Privacy Commissioner warned that the trust had called the wrong man a paedophile for almost two years and said the trust had a continuously negligent, cavalier, and dangerous approach to privacy.[11][12] After a similar instance of mistaken identity in 2014, the trust agreed to provide training to volunteers, but only one person was trained and they left shortly after.[13]