A sensational offense by a recently release prisoner with a long history of sexual offending led to the scope of preventive detention being extended in 1987, prompting a dramatic increase in the use of this sentence by the New Zealand courts. A committee of inquiry had previously criticized this sentence, which provides for the indefinite detention of dangerous offenders, as "arbitrary, selective and inequitable" and recommended its abolition. In the 1987-93 period, a total of 48 persons received this sentence, compared with 28 during the previous 19 years. The revival of preventive detention is a case study of law-and-order politics, since this previously seldom- used sentence became a central feature of the efforts of successive governments to respond to increasing levels of violent crime. The principal deficiencies of this sentence are inconsistency in its use; its lack of focus and the Court of Appeal's failure to provide meaningful guidance to judges; and the severity of the sentence, which involves detention for a minimum term of 10 years. 7 tables, 35 notes, and 32 references