Criminal justice group conducts Dunedin session
A CRIMINAL justice group converged on Dunedin yesterday for a dropin session to hear from those who had firsthand experience of the system.
Members of the Government’s Safe and Effective Justice Programme Advisory Group have come south to gather information on the criminal justice system from those who have experienced it firsthand.
This includes offenders, victims, and those who work within the system each day.
The 10strong group is chaired by former courts minister Chester Borrows.
Those visiting the South were Timaru lawyer Quentin Hix, victim advocate Ruth Money, of Auckland, and University of Canterbury sociologist Jarrod Gilbert.
Mr Hix said he was pleased with the response at the dropin session at the Dunedin Public Library yesterday morning.
He encouraged those with views and experiences to attend dropin sessions in Invercargill today at the Corinthian Convention Centre, Invercargill Workingmen’s Club from 911am, or the Queenstown session tomorrow at Queenstown Memorial Centre, also from 911am.
The defence lawyer, who runs a firm in Timaru and is also a director of Ngai Tahu Holdings, said New Zealand’s high rates of incarceration and recidivism made the group’s work urgent.
‘‘We really want to hear everyone’s ideas.
‘‘The interesting thing I’m finding going around the regions, is you find these nuggets of wisdom, these local ideas you haven’t heard before, and that’s really what we want to hear more of.’’