2026 New Zealand general election: Crime and justice policy comparison

As at 30 October 2026, New Zealand's political parties have significant differences in how they propose to prevent crime, police communities, punish offenders and rehabilitate people who have committed crimes.

The central divide is between two broad approaches:

• Enforcement and deterrence: More police powers, tougher sentencing, longer prison terms and stronger consequences for repeat offending.
• Prevention and rehabilitation: Addressing the causes of crime, investing in social services, restorative justice, rehabilitation and alternatives to imprisonment.

There are also differences within these approaches, particularly over youth offending, gangs, victims' rights and the role of prisons.

The comparison below covers seven parties: National, Labour, ACT, New Zealand First, the Green Party, Te Pāti Māori and the Opportunities Party (TOP).

1. Comparison by political party

National Party

National Party

Enforcement and tougher consequences

Incumbent governing party

• Crime prevention: Focuses on visible policing, consequences for offending, gang restrictions and public-order enforcement.
• Policing: Proposes a dedicated Auckland transport police team covering trains, buses and ferries. Its broader record includes additional police powers against gangs and move-on orders.
• Sentencing: Retains Three Strikes, supports tougher sentencing and proposes abolishing good-character assessments for all sexual offending. It also proposes making it an offence to withhold information from police after witnessing the killing of a child aged 12 or under.
• Rehabilitation: Has prioritised additional prison capacity and staffing as prisoner numbers rise. It has not published a comparable new rehabilitation programme as a central 2026 election commitment.

Underlying philosophy: Public safety through enforcement, deterrence, accountability and consequences for offenders.

Sources: National's policy announcements and its submission to the Law Society. 2026 Election PolicyNZLS | 1. What are your party’s key objectives in the justice portfolio?What should change in sentencing, prisons, youth offending, gang laws and policing?

Labour Party

Labour Party

Evidence-based public safety

Opposition party

• Crime prevention: Emphasises community safety, equitable access to justice and evidence-based policy rather than reactive law-and-order measures.
• Policing: Has not published a comprehensive 2026 police staffing or policing powers proposal.
• Sentencing: Labour has not announced a comprehensive new sentencing package. Its position suggests opposition to the current direction of some sentencing reforms, but it has not made an explicit commitment to repeal all of them.
• Rehabilitation: Would scrap the 2026 military-style youth academy legislation. Labour argues the initial pilot had high reoffending rates. It has not yet specified a complete replacement programme.
• Prisons: Labour accepts that prisons remain necessary, rather than proposing their abolition.

Underlying philosophy: Improve public safety through evidence-based policy, while avoiding measures that do not demonstrably reduce reoffending.

An important qualification: Labour's 2026 crime policy is less developed publicly than its policies in several other areas. Its current position should not be mistaken for a detailed alternative sentencing programme.

Sources: NZLS | 1. What are your party’s key objectives in the justice portfolio?What should change in sentencing, prisons, youth offending, gang laws and policing?Labour's 2026 Election Policies

ACT Party

ACT New Zealand

Strong deterrence and enforcement

• Crime prevention: Emphasises preventing repeat offending through stronger consequences and keeping repeat offenders in prison.
• Policing: Proposes 100,000 additional rural police patrol hours annually, a dedicated rural crime unit and greater ability for licensed security officers to detain people until police arrive.
• Sentencing: Proposes Three Strikes for burglary. A third burglary conviction would carry at least three years' imprisonment without parole, home detention or early release. It also proposes removing good-character sentencing reductions for child sex offenders.
• Rehabilitation: Does not have a similarly prominent new rehabilitation investment programme in its 2026 crime proposals.
• Youth offending: Supports the military-style academy legislation introduced under the current Government.
• Gangs: Supports retaining the existing gang restrictions and firearms restrictions on gang members.

ACT estimates its proposed burglary policy would cost approximately $413 million over four years.

Underlying philosophy: Stronger consequences, incapacitation of repeat offenders and increased enforcement capacity.

Sources: NZLS | 1. What are your party’s key objectives in the justice portfolio?What should change in sentencing, prisons, youth offending, gang laws and policing?

New Zealand First

New Zealand First

Very strong sentencing emphasis

• Crime prevention: Focuses on disrupting organised crime, gangs and transnational criminal networks.
• Policing: Proposes a dedicated organised-crime agency and replacing the Serious Fraud Office with a specialist division within NZ Police.
• Sentencing: Proposes substantially tougher minimum sentences, a degrees-of-murder system, longer non-parole periods and life without parole for first-degree murder. It also proposes raising parole eligibility to 75% of a sentence for long-term offenders.
• Victims: Proposes a system in which the state provides immediate reparation to victims and then seeks recovery from offenders.
• Rehabilitation: Its 2026 law-and-order package does not set out a comparable new rehabilitation investment programme.
• Youth offending: Has previously promoted a Youth Justice Demerits system and secure training orders, although these are not detailed commitments in its latest October package.

Its October 2026 announcement includes:

• Life imprisonment without parole for first-degree murder.
• A minimum non-parole period of 30 years for second-degree murder.
• A minimum non-parole period of 10 years for third-degree murder.
• An eight-year minimum non-parole period for a coward punch causing death.
• A proposed cap of 10% on most sentencing discounts other than guilty-plea discounts.

Underlying philosophy: Prioritising victims, punishment for serious offending and stronger incapacitation of dangerous offenders.

Sources: NZFirst Law and Order Policy Announcement: Tougher Sentences, Degrees of Murder, Smashing Organised Crime, Life Means LifeNZLS | 1. What are your party’s key objectives in the justice portfolio?What should change in sentencing, prisons, youth offending, gang laws and policing?

Green Party

Green Party

Prevention and rehabilitation

• Crime prevention: Focuses on the underlying causes of offending, including poverty, inadequate housing, mental health problems, addiction and lack of educational opportunities.
• Policing: Proposes mandatory police body cameras, stronger independent police oversight, de-escalation and trauma training, and more support for Māori and Pacific Wardens.
• Sentencing: Wants to repeal Three Strikes, mandatory minimum sentences, preventive detention and life sentences, restoring greater judicial discretion.
• Rehabilitation: Proposes rehabilitation for everyone convicted of an offence, greater access to restorative justice and tikanga-based approaches, and better post-release housing support.
• Youth offending: Opposes military-style academies and wants to raise the age of criminal responsibility.
• Prisons: Supports using imprisonment as a last resort rather than as the default response.

The Greens also want to extend the Te Ao Mārama approach across all courts.

Underlying philosophy: Prevent crime before it happens and reduce reoffending through social investment, rehabilitation and restorative justice.

Sources: Manifesto 2026NZLS | 1. What are your party’s key objectives in the justice portfolio?What should change in sentencing, prisons, youth offending, gang laws and policing?

Te Pāti Māori

Te Pāti Māori

Community-led justice reform

• Crime prevention: Focuses on addressing poverty, social inequality and the circumstances contributing to offending, particularly within Māori communities.
• Policing: Proposes mandatory police body cameras and replacing the Independent Police Conduct Authority with a genuinely independent, Māori-grounded oversight body.
• Sentencing: Wants to repeal Three Strikes, the 2025 sentencing changes and the Bail Amendment Act, and reinstate funding for cultural reports.
• Rehabilitation: Proposes an independent Māori Justice Authority, with funding redirected from existing justice budgets.
• Youth offending: Wants to immediately close military-style academies, close youth justice residences by 2030 and raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 16.
• Prisons: Its long-term objective is to abolish prisons by 2040, replacing them with community-based, restorative and tikanga-led alternatives.
• Gangs: Proposes repealing gang legislation.

Importantly, Te Pāti Māori says prison abolition would not happen during the 2026 parliamentary term. It is a longer-term objective.

Underlying philosophy: Shift justice away from punishment and imprisonment towards Māori-led, whānau-centred rehabilitation and community accountability.

Sources: What should change in sentencing, prisons, youth offending, gang laws and policing?NZLS | 1. What are your party’s key objectives in the justice portfolio?Election policy tracker: what the parties are promising

The Opportunities Party (TOP)

The Opportunities Party

Early intervention and rehabilitation

• Crime prevention: Proposes early voluntary intervention for at-risk children, including when Oranga Tamariki first receives a report of concern.
• Policing: Has not published a detailed 2026 proposal for police numbers or police powers.
• Sentencing: Has not announced a major new sentencing law package.
• Rehabilitation: Proposes expanding specialist courts, restorative justice and programmes such as Te Pae Oranga and the Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Court.
• Youth offending: Wants to redirect funding from military-style academies towards youth support, mentoring, parenting programmes and trauma counselling.
• Prison rehabilitation: Proposes trade training, mentoring, employment assistance and housing case management for people leaving prison.
• Crime drivers: Emphasises addiction, family violence and previously undiagnosed conditions such as ADHD and FASD.

TOP proposes funding its approach partly by redirecting some Corrections budget growth towards prevention and rehabilitation.

Underlying philosophy: Intervene early, identify why people offend and reduce the likelihood of further offending.

Sources: Elections 2026NZLS | 1. What are your party’s key objectives in the justice portfolio?What should change in sentencing, prisons, youth offending, gang laws and policing?

2. Side-by-side comparison

The following table summarises the main differences.

Party	Crime prevention	Policing	Sentencing	Rehabilitation
National	Enforcement and deterrence	Targeted additional police	Tougher sentences; Three Strikes	Less prominent in new proposals
Labour	Evidence-based prevention	No detailed new plan	No comprehensive new package	Scrap military-style academies
ACT	Prevent repeat offending	More rural patrols	Three Strikes for burglary	Less prominent
NZ First	Disrupt organised crime	Dedicated organised-crime agency	Mandatory minimums; longer sentences	Less prominent
Greens	Address social causes	Body cameras and oversight	Restore judicial discretion	Major investment
Te Pāti Māori	Address inequality and poverty	Body cameras; Māori-led oversight	Repeal tougher sentencing laws	Community-led alternatives
TOP	Early intervention	No detailed new plan	No major new package	Specialist courts and reintegration

3. Comparison by the four key issues

A. Crime prevention

There are different interpretations of what actually prevents crime.

Enforcement-oriented approaches:

• National emphasises police visibility, gang restrictions and consequences.
• ACT emphasises preventing repeat offending by keeping repeat offenders imprisoned.
• NZ First emphasises disrupting organised crime and increasing the consequences of serious offending.

Social and community-oriented approaches:

• Labour emphasises evidence-based public safety.
• Greens focus on poverty, mental health, addiction, education and housing.
• Te Pāti Māori emphasises poverty reduction, whānau support and Māori-led solutions.
• TOP focuses on identifying at-risk children early and providing family support before offending develops.

The important distinction is between preventing an individual from offending while incarcerated and preventing that person from returning to crime after release.

B. Policing

Party	Main policing direction
National	Dedicated Auckland transport police team
Labour	No detailed new commitment published
ACT	100,000 additional rural patrol hours annually
NZ First	Dedicated organised-crime agency
Greens	Body cameras, oversight and de-escalation training
Te Pāti Māori	Body cameras and independent Māori-grounded oversight
TOP	No detailed new commitment published

ACT's proposal is specifically directed at rural policing, whereas National's announced proposal targets Auckland public transport.

The Greens and Te Pāti Māori place particular emphasis on police accountability and independent oversight.

What should change in sentencing, prisons, youth offending, gang laws and policing?NZLS | 1. What are your party’s key objectives in the justice portfolio?

C. Sentencing and punishment

This is one of the clearest divisions between the parties.

Parties proposing tougher sentencing

• National: Retain Three Strikes and remove good-character sentencing considerations for sexual offending.
• ACT: Introduce a three-year minimum sentence for a third burglary conviction.
• NZ First: Introduce degrees of murder, mandatory minimums and longer non-parole periods.

Parties favouring greater judicial discretion or repeal of tougher laws

• Greens: Remove Three Strikes, mandatory minimums and other restrictive sentencing rules.
• Te Pāti Māori: Repeal Three Strikes and the 2025 sentencing changes.
• Labour: Has not committed to a comprehensive repeal or replacement package.
• TOP: Has not published a major sentencing reform package.

One particularly important difference is the treatment of judicial discretion.

National, ACT and NZ First favour more prescribed consequences for particular offences. The Greens and Te Pāti Māori want judges to have greater flexibility to consider individual circumstances.

What should change in sentencing, prisons, youth offending, gang laws and policing?NZFirst Law and Order Policy Announcement: Tougher Sentences, Degrees of Murder, Smashing Organised Crime, Life Means Life

D. Rehabilitation and reducing reoffending

This is where the parties' philosophies differ particularly clearly.

Party	Rehabilitation approach
National	Prison capacity and consequences are prominent
Labour	Opposes military-style academies; replacement programme not yet specified
ACT	No major new rehabilitation package identified
NZ First	No major new rehabilitation package identified
Greens	Rehabilitation, restorative justice and housing support
Te Pāti Māori	Whānau-centred and tikanga-based alternatives
TOP	Specialist courts, training, mentoring and early intervention

Three parties have particularly developed rehabilitation proposals:

• Greens: Rehabilitation throughout the justice process, including after release.
• Te Pāti Māori: Transform the justice system towards community-led alternatives to imprisonment.
• TOP: Focus on early intervention and practical reintegration into society.

Labour occupies a less clearly defined position because it has opposed military-style academies but has not published a detailed alternative rehabilitation strategy.

What should change in sentencing, prisons, youth offending, gang laws and policing?Elections 2026

4. What does the evidence tell us about these approaches?

It is useful to separate political commitments from evidence about whether those commitments will work.

There are several important considerations.

1. Longer prison sentences

Longer sentences prevent an offender from committing crimes in the community while imprisoned. However, that does not necessarily mean they reduce the likelihood of reoffending after release.

The Prime Minister's Chief Science Advisor's 2018 review reported a lack of evidence for the supposed general deterrent effect of harsher sentences. This is an important distinction when assessing claims about deterrence, although it does not answer every question about incapacitation or public protection. What should change in sentencing, prisons, youth offending, gang laws and policing?

2. Youth military-style academies

The initial pilot had a small evidence base. Its final evaluation found that five of nine participants reduced the frequency and seriousness of their offending, compared with two of nine in a comparison group. The evaluators cautioned that larger numbers were needed to draw stronger conclusions.

Oranga Tamariki separately reported that seven of the ten pilot participants reoffended. These figures illustrate why the programme's effectiveness remains a subject of debate. What should change in sentencing, prisons, youth offending, gang laws and policing?

3. Rehabilitation and reintegration

Employment, stable housing, addiction treatment, education and ongoing support can all be relevant to reducing reoffending.

The Greens and TOP have particularly explicit proposals in these areas. Te Pāti Māori proposes a broader restructuring of the justice system.

4. Prison capacity

New Zealand had 11,256 people in prison at 30 June 2026. The Ministry of Justice projected that the prison population could reach 15,200 by June 2036 if existing trends continued.

This creates an important policy question: whether to accommodate a growing prison population or reduce the number of people entering and returning to prison. What should change in sentencing, prisons, youth offending, gang laws and policing?

5. What should voters examine when comparing these policies?

Beyond the political philosophies, I would suggest examining six practical questions:

1. Effectiveness: Does the policy have evidence that it reduces crime, rather than simply increasing penalties?
2. Repeat offending: What happens when an offender leaves prison?
3. Victims: Does the policy improve victim protection, support, compensation and access to justice?
4. Youth crime: Does it address the reasons young people become involved in offending?
5. Public safety: Does it provide adequate protection against serious and repeat offenders?
6. Cost: Are the proposed policies funded, and what are their long-term implications for police, courts and prisons?

One additional consideration is Māori over-representation in the criminal justice system. The parties differ substantially in whether they see this primarily as an issue requiring stronger enforcement, more equitable access to justice, or structural reform.

6. Important policy gaps and uncertainties

The amount of detail published by each party is not equal.

An independent policy comparison published in October 2026 found that no independent costing had been identified for the parties' overall crime and justice proposals. Some parties provide individual cost estimates, but many proposals lack published costings, implementation timelines or detailed evaluations.

In particular:

• Labour has not published a comprehensive law-and-order policy.
• ACT has detailed sentencing and rural policing proposals but less detail on rehabilitation.
• NZ First has released a substantial sentencing package but relatively little new detail on rehabilitation.
• National has several specific law-and-order commitments, but some proposals lack published implementation costs.
• The Greens, Te Pāti Māori and TOP have more developed prevention and rehabilitation proposals, but important funding and implementation questions remain.

What should change in sentencing, prisons, youth offending, gang laws and policing?NZLS | 1. What are your party’s key objectives in the justice portfolio?

7. Party policy documents and further reading

For checking the original commitments rather than relying on campaign summaries:

• National – 2026 election policies
• Labour – 2026 election policies
• ACT – official website
• NZ First – October 2026 law-and-order package
• Greens – 2026 manifesto
• New Zealand Law Society – party justice objectives
• Undecided – detailed crime and sentencing comparison

Overall perspective

The biggest policy divide in the 2026 election is not simply whether parties want less crime. All seven say they want safer communities.

The fundamental disagreement is how to achieve that safety:

• National, ACT and NZ First put greater emphasis on enforcement, deterrence and punishment.
• The Greens, Te Pāti Māori and TOP put greater emphasis on prevention, rehabilitation and alternatives to imprisonment.
• Labour occupies a less clearly defined middle position, particularly because its detailed crime policy remains incomplete.

A useful question to ask of every party is: What happens to public safety both while an offender is serving a sentence and after that person returns to the community?

That distinction helps separate policies focused on immediate consequences from policies designed to achieve lasting reductions in crime and reoffending.