NEWS

Four-year-old Edouard talks as if his brother Augustine, who was murdered last year, is still alive - and his dad Charlie Borrell thinks it's a blessing.

"That's one of the blessings of being a child, perhaps he can see things that we can't - but also, he doesn't have to feel the same pain and other emotions that we do when we are let down time and again by our justice system," said Mr Borrell.

His elder son, Augustine, 17, died after he was stabbed at a party in Herne Bay last September. The murder accused has been granted bail and is living about 1km away.

Mr Borrell was one of about 100 people, many of whom were families and friends, who took part in a march and rally in Newmarket yesterday calling for tougher laws and sentences.

The demonstration "New Zealand - a land fit for criminals?" was organised by the Sensible Sentencing Trust to launch the New Zealand tour of British crime expert and author David Fraser.

"Basically, people are getting sick of the lax New Zealand laws and are feeling let down by the justice system which is making crime spiral out of control in this country," said Wendy Pedler, the national secretary of the trust.

"We are hoping Fraser, a man who has walked the talk in Britain, can give them new hope in their fight for change."

Singaporean immigrant Peter Low, who said he had been robbed four times, said the police were "a joke" and he "didn't feel safe walking in the streets of Auckland today".

Mr Low said he had founded the Asian Anti-crime Group, a support group for Asian victims, because "New Zealand didn't protect victims, only criminals. The recent Manurewa murders show that it is not safe anywhere in New Zealand - not at the place you work, and not even in your own home", Mr Low said.

Rita Croskery, the mother of murdered pizza delivery man Michael Choy, said she was campaigning for tougher laws so that no other mother had to go through what she was going through.

"Criminals are roaming the streets because our laws are just not tough enough to keep them behind bars," she said. "New Zealand tends to treat the human rights of criminals as far more important than the rights of victims."

Tonight Mr Fraser, who has worked in the British probation service, courts and prisons and as a criminal intelligence analyst, will speak at a forum "Your role in creating a crime free community" at Rangitoto College.