中文簡介:
David Carruthers法官係律師背景出身,曾任紐西蘭少年法庭、家事法庭、地區法庭法官,2005年起擔任全國假釋委員會主席,現負責警察風紀事務,其為推動該國修復式正義司法改革工作的先驅,並曾多次赴國外講習,交流紐西蘭修復式司法成功經驗。
英文簡介:
David Carruthers worked as a lawyer and was appointed as a district court judge before becoming chairman of the New Zealand Parole Board in 2005. He was head of the Board when it made the decision to release convicted murder, Garaeme Burton, who subsequently went on to murder again. Carruthers subsequently initiated a review of the Board's decision making processes and was responsible introducing tougher procedures. He was knighted in 2009 and in 2012 appointed as head of the Independent Police Conduct Authority.
Early life and career
Carruthers was born and raised in Pahiatua,
New Zealand. He attended Victoria University, Wellington where he studied law
graduating in 1962. He completed his masters in law passing with honours two
years later. He practised law in Wellington and Pahiatua for 20 years before
moving to Palmerston North. Carruthers is married and has five children.
In 1985 Carruthers was appointed as a judge
in the Family Court in Wellington. Five years later he became a judge in the
Youth Court, eventually being appointed as Principal Youth Court Judge. In 2000
Carruthers was asked to lead a Ministerial Taskforce on Youth Offending to come
up with initiatives designed to reduce youth crime after Ministry of Justice
figures showed that "over the 1990s, offending by 10 to 16 year olds
increased by 55%". In 2001 Judge Carruthers was appointed as Chief
District Court Judge, a position he held until 2005. That year the Government
awarded him a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit -
granted to New Zealanders who have "rendered meritorious service to the
Crown and nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents,
(or) contributions". He was knighted by the Governor-General in 2009.
Public speeches
Carruthers has given speeches at numerous
conferences and seminars both in New Zealand and overseas. For many years he
has pushed for a more humane approach to dealing with criminal offenders
advocating, in particular, for increased use of restorative and therapeutic
justice approaches. He has held a number of public and charitable offices and
recommended greater focus on education, and interventions for youth and
families rather than locking up more and more offenders.
Speaking at a criminology conference in
November 2012, Sir David commented on the reduction in New Zealand's crime
rate. He said the drop is partly due to a drive to reduce the number of
teenagers being suspended or expelled from school. Around 70% of the most
serious youth offenders are not in school, and keeping them involved in
education is the best way to reduce offending. Figures from the Education
Ministry show that the rates at which schools suspend pupils have been
declining for the last 12 years, from 7.9 suspensions for every 1000 students
in 2000 to 5.2 today. The decline in the suspension rate for Maori students has
been the most dramatic - from almost 20 pupils for every 1000 Maori students to
under 12.
Chairman of New Zealand Parole Board
Carruthers is best known for his role as
Chairman of the New Zealand Parole Board, a position he was appointed to in
2005 and held until 2012. He was head of the Board when it made the decision to
release Graeme Burton from prison in July 2006. Six months later Burton shot
and killed Karl Kuchenbecker in the hills of Wainuiomata and injured a number
of others. The incident led to at least two different inquiries into the
management of parolees and many blamed the Parole Board for getting it wrong.
Shortly after the murder, Judge Carruthers fronted up for media interviews and
spoke about how devastated he felt. He admitted to an "extraordinary sense
of personal responsibility" that Burton's release had resulted in two boys
losing their father. This was in direct contrast to the response from the chief
executive of the Corrections Department, Barry Matthews, who said there was
"no blood on my hands" and claimed that Burton's parole was
well-managed and that correct procedures were followed.
The Parole Board became more risk-averse
after this incident. It tightened up its decision-making procedures as a result
of which more inmates are now being kept in prison for longer, and those who
are released are committing less crime. Judge Carruthers remained convinced in
the value of parole pointing out that "international research shows
release with the right to recall was three to four times more successful in
preventing reoffending than automatic release at the end of a sentence".
As chairman of the Board, one of Carruthers
concerns was the lack of accommodation and support available to prisoners on
release. He became an advocate for halfway houses for paroled prisoners. In
2008 he visited Canada, which has over 200 halfway houses funded by the Canadian
corrections Service. On his return he said Canada was five to six times more
successful in reducing re-offending than New Zealand because of the extensive
use of halfway houses. New Zealand has only two such facilities with a total of
just 28 beds. At a speech to the Prison Fellowship in 2010, Sir David repeated
this point and said the greatest challenge the parole board faced was finding
stable accommodation for prisoners on release. Of 269 prisoners on preventive
detention, only 16 were out on parole. "It is almost impossible to find
stable accommodation for them in the communities of this country. Frankly, they
are not wanted. When we have released people, they have been outed, the release
has been undermined and [the parolees] returned to prison. Halfway houses would
cut reoffending rates", he said.
Head of Independent Police Conduct
Authority
In April 2012, Parliament appointed
Carruthers as the new chairman of the Independent Police conduct Authority
(IPCA). One of his first tasks as the new head was to release a report on
deaths in police custody in the last ten years. One of his first public
statements was to say he may recommend an extension of the IPCA's powers to
include the ability to prosecute officers who break the rules - after the
police were accused of a "scandalous delay" of more than three years
in investigating an assault on Jakob Christie, who suffered a fractured
vertebra when police closed down a party in Khandallah Wellington in September
2009. An editorial in the Dominion Post suggested the police response to the
case indicated a lack of respect for the IPCA and said: "If the authority
could prosecute errant officers, perhaps police would pay it more attention.
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