Chronicle of victims' rights group
A Country99 TV feature on the journey of the Sensible Sentencing Trust is raising the profile of the already prominent victims' rights lobby group.
Producer Neil Parker and cameraman Richard Sydenham discovered what makes the Sensible Sentencing Trust tick during extensive interviews they conducted with founder Garth McVicar in the organisation's Napier head office and on his Hawke's Bay farm.
McVicar and his wife, Anne, founded SST in 2001.
Eleven years later it is the largest privately funded victims' rights and justice reform organisation in New Zealand, and can claim many legislative successes under its belt.
McVicar said he was proud to be able to give back to his country but dedicated the lobby group's growth to: "the amazing support from thousands of Kiwis and tireless dedicated staff.
"New Zealand was one of, if not the, safest country in the western world when I was growing up. The introduction of what I call 'liberal lunacy' has destroyed all that and led to a totally unacceptable level of violent crime," he said.
"To watch this tragic journey was a soul destroying and shattering experience for me but SST has been incredibly successful in exposing the corrupt ideology and outcomes of liberal lunacy. We are now seeing an unprecedented drop in crime.
"That's all the reward we need, but to continue this momentum it essential our support base continues to grow and this feature on the SST journey to date is helping us achieve that."The SST documentary can be watched on the internet via the YouTube website at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i2Pza8rsVg
