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Message: [QUOTE="Munyaradzi Mafaro, post: 47382, member: 636"] New Zealand courts must follow stricter rules when punishing criminals starting Sunday. Judges cannot give as many sentence reductions to offenders under the updated laws. The changes also make penalties worse for crimes against people who work alone or run businesses from their homes. Courts must consider victims' needs when deciding punishments. The government wants to restore public trust after years of light sentences. Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith believes the reforms will bring back real consequences for breaking the law. He said communities deserve protection from criminals who ignore rules and threaten public safety. ACT party member Nicole McKee supports the changes after seeing serious assault cases jump 134 percent from 2017 to 2023. She claims previous policies were too kind to lawbreakers. The party helped add special protections for retail workers who face attacks. Labour party justice spokesman Duncan Webb opposes the tougher approach. He argues that harsh sentences alone do not stop crime from happening. Webb wants more money spent on fixing problems that cause criminal behavior like poverty and mental illness. He believes the new rules will make court delays worse and cost taxpayers more money. Webb said helping people before they commit crimes works better than longer prison terms. The reforms bring back the Three Strikes law that increases punishments for repeat offenders. Courts must now stack sentences when criminals break laws during bail or parole. Social service workers worry the changes will create more problems than solutions. They fear overcrowded courts and prisons without reducing actual crime rates. [/QUOTE]

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