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Maori leaders are meeting with the commissioner of police today in a national Maori focus forum to look at ways to cut Maori reoffending.
Superintendent Wally Haumaha, the deputy chief executive for Maori, Pacific and Ethnic services, says it’s a chance to review how the Turning the Tide strategy is working.
He says introducing pre-charge warnings for minor offences has led to a 35 percent reduction in apprehensions of Maori youth, which means more than 3000 rangatahi having their behaviour and offending addressed at the community level rather than being dragged into the criminal justice system.
"The infrastructure of Maori organisation is well structured to be able to now understand what is driving families through the system, what they can do to prevent people from entering into the system and if they are in the system what they can do to rehabilitate," he says.
Superintendant Wally Haumaha says initiatives such as iwi panels are not soft options, because they address behavioural issues.
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