August 25, 2016
Corrections ignoring Maori advice
Prison reform advocacy group Just Speak is challenging Corrections to come up with a more credible response to a Waitangi Tribunal claim against its failure to address the high rate of Maori reoffending.
Chair Julia Whaipooti says the department told the hearing, which ended on Tuesday, that Maori reoffending is a priority.
But while it is almost half way to its target of a 25 percent reduction in the rate non-Maori reoffend, the figure has not moved for Maori.
That shows its approach is not working.
Ms Whaipooti says it has rejected all the suggestions made by claimant Tom Hemopo, Just Speak, and experts like Kim Workman and Tracy McIntosh.
The rejected recommendations included raising the youth justice age as a way to tackle the high number of young Maori entering the prison system, developing specific targets for Maori, and setting up an independent body to advise the department.
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