The Sensible Sentencing Trust has today criticised the soft sentence handed down to Hayden Tasker for killing policewoman Lyn Fleming and seriously wounding her colleague Adam Ramsay.

National spokesperson Louise Parsons today said: “The deliberate killing of a police officer in the line of duty is vile and calls for the toughest possible sentencing response - life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.  This is a sentence available to the Judge under the Three Strikes amendments to the law in 2010.

“Sentencing for murder in New Zealand is extremely soft.  A minimum of 10 years is normally imposed (with a ‘Life’ overlay) - which compares poorly to similar jurisdictions such as New South Wales, where a minimum period of at least 20 years’ imprisonment is normally imposed, with longer for the murder of children.

“While the Judge could and should have done better in this particular case, it is really  only Parliament’s intervention that can fix these soft sentences for the worst crimes.

“Sensible Sentencing Trust is calling on all political parties to commit to increasing the standard minimum sentence for murder from 10 years to 20 years, as is standard in New South Wales.  Life without Parole should also be the default sentence for killing a police officer or first responder in the line of duty.

“That would go some way to improving the justice for victims killed in these appalling circumstances.  It would also go some way to relieve the downward pressure that low murder sentences impose on other serious violence and sexual offending.” concluded Ms Parsons.