Offender case management: Reducing the rate of reoffending by Māori
| Author | Trudy Sullivan,Sergeant T Thomson,Michelle McDonald |
| DOI | 10.1177/0004865815575398 |
| Published date | 01 September 2016 |
| Date | 01 September 2016 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Australian & New Zealand
Journal of Criminology
2016, Vol. 49(3) 405–421
!The Author(s) 2015
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DOI: 10.1177/0004865815575398
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Article
Offender case management:
Reducing the rate of
reoffending by Ma
¯ori
Trudy Sullivan
University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
Michelle McDonald
Kaihautu Operations Manager, Dunedin, New Zealand
Sergeant T Thomson
New Zealand Police, Dunedin, New Zealand
Abstract
In New Zealand, the number of offenders who continue to commit crime after leaving prison
or completing community-based sentences is high, with the likelihood of reoffending much
higher for M
aori. The Police, Iwi (M
aori tribe) and the Department of Corrections (the
New Zealand Government agency responsible for prisons and correctional facilities, com-
munity probation, and parole services) have set clear goals to reduce the level of crime and
the rate of reoffending. A decrease in reoffending will benefit society in terms of reduced
costs to the justice system, less crime, safer communities and fewer victims. There is growing
international evidence that offender case management is effective at reducing reoffending.
The collaborative approach brings together representatives from the justice system, local
authorities and other organisations to work alongside offenders who are due for release from
prison. This article presents the results of Project Kete, a joint initiative between A3K (an
organisation that provides support for M
aori clients), the Police and the Department of
Corrections. Sixteen high-risk M
aori offenders nearing the end of their sentences received
intensive support and supervision to help them reintegrate into the community. The results
are encouraging. All 16 offenders remained out of prison as at December 2014 – a 100%
reduction in the expected reimprisonment rate – and the 1-year reconviction rate was 33%
versus a predicted rate of 48%.
Keywords
Crime, M
aori, offender case management, reintegrate, reoffending
Corresponding author:
TrudySullivan, Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New
Zealand.
Email: trudy.sullivan@otago.ac.nz
Introduction
In New Zealand, the indigenous people are M
aori.
1
Their current socio-economic pos-
ition as a substantial ethnic minority, with descendants of European migrants in the
majority, is relatively poor. Compared with other New Zealand ethnic groups, M
aori
have lower life expectancies and are more likely to suffer health problems, be less
educated and receive lower incomes than their counterparts (Marie et al. 2014). M
aori
are also significantly over-represented in criminal justice statistics. Although M
aori com-
prise about 12.7% of the general population over the age of 15, more than 40% of all
police apprehensions are M
aori, more than 50% of the prison population are M
aori (see
Table 1), and M
aori have the highest reimprisonment rate for both first time and recid-
ivist offenders (Department of Corrections, 2013; New Zealand Police, 2012).
In 2012, Iwi and the New Zealand Police joined forces to address the high rates of
offending, victimisation, and road fatalities and injuries among M
aori. ‘The Turning of
the Tide – a Wh
anau Ora Crime and Crash Prevention Strategy’ sets out the common
goals M
aori and Police want to achieve by 2018. One of the main goals is to achieve a
10% reduction in the proportion of repeat youth and adult offenders who are M
aori.
The ‘Turning of the Tide’ strategy fits with the Police’s ‘Prevention First’ operating
model, a proactive and preventive model focussing on the drivers of crime. The model
encourages collaboration and cooperation amongst the criminal justice sector and other
support agencies to meet a target of 13% reduction in reported crime by 2014/15
(New Zealand Police, 2011). The Department of Corrections also has a strong focus
on reducing reoffending. As can be seen in Figure 1, the reconviction and reimprison-
ment rates 12 months’ post-release from prison have been consistently above 41% and
26%, respectively over the last decade. In line with the Government’s ‘Better Public
Services’ programme, their goal is to reduce reoffending by 25% by 2017 (Lukkien &
Johnston, 2013).
The growing emphasis on crime reduction is primarily driven by the substantial costs
imposed on society as a result of crime. Crime has many victims – individuals, families,
communities and the nation as a whole. The effects of crime are extensive and wide-
ranging – death, physical and emotional abuse, living in fear, loss of property and
Table 1. Ethnic composition of the prison population as at January 2014.
Ethnicity
Female Male Total
No. % No. % No. %
M
aori 287 57.2 3918 50.1 4205 50.5
European 168 33.5 2646 33.8 2814 33.8
Pacific peoples 26 5.2 918 11.7 944 11.3
Asian 14 2.8 229 2.9 243 2.9
Other/unknown 7 1.4 117 1.5 124 1.5
Total 502 100 7828 100 8330 100
Source: Department of Corrections.
406 Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology 49(3)
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