S P & A  0144–5596 V. 36, No. 4, A 2002, . 392–407 © Blackwell Publishers Ltd. ,  Cowley Road, Oxford OX JF, UK and  Main Street, Malden, MA , USA Blackwell Publishers Ltd Oxford, UK SPOL Social Policy & Administration 0144–5596 © Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 2001 2001 36 4 1 000 Original Article Alternatives to Custody in the New Zealand Criminal Justice System: Current Features and Future Prospects Anita Gibbs and Denise King Abstract Alternatives to custody in New Zealand have followed a format similar to criminal justice systems in the UK and other European countries but with a stronger emphasis on both punitive, work-based options like periodic detention, and more recently home detention, as well as restorative justice models. Much of current practice relies heavily on the now dated Criminal Justice Act . However, a new sentencing and parole act is proposed for . In this paper the authors review the current alternatives to custody in New Zealand, paying particular attention to issues arising from their recent research on home detention—surveillance, control and impacts on family members— and offering a reflection on the future prospects for alternatives to custody. Keywords Criminal Justice; Custody; New Zealand Introduction New Zealand’s prison population is  per , of the national popula- tion (Walmsley ), giving it one of the highest rates for an Oceania coun- try (Australia’s is ) and compares to  for the UK. As in many other countries the prison population has risen steadily since the early s (Min- istry of Justice a) and averages about , per annum, representing approximately  per cent of convicted offenders (Spier ). Successive National and Labour–Alliance governments have done little to stem the rising prison population: new alternatives and amended legislation have been tried and trialed with little effect. Policy is rarely research-based and more often is a response to the broader political and assumed public pressures of the day. There is no clarion call from the prime minister saying “tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime”; instead, there is an array of mixed Address for correspondence: Dr Anita Gibbs, Department of Community and Family Studies, University of Otago, PO Box , Dunedin, New Zealand. E-mail: anita.gibbs@stonebow.otago.ac.nz.