Justice panels mooted for region
A new initiative to keep people from walking through courtroom doors could be on the cards in Taranaki.
Known as Te Pae Oranga, the iwi justice panels are part of a nationwide pilot under the Turning of the Tide strategy which is designed to cut Ma¯ ori offending rates. The initiative, which is open to all offenders who fit the criteria, aims to address low-level offending and ensure participants don’t go to court. It will put in place supports to ensure they stay crime-free.
The pilot, which is run by police, iwi and community providers, began in 2014 and has seen about 1800 people go through to date. An 11.9 per cent drop in re-offending among Ma¯ori who are aged 17-24 has already been attributed to the programme.
Taranaki Area Commander Inspector Keith Borrell said a scoping exercise was currently under way to look at bringing the initiative to Taranaki.
He, along with representatives of South Taranaki iwi groups, visited the Lower Hutt-run panel on November 28 to observe how it worked and to also talk to its members about the process.
Borrell said the philosophy behind the process was simple.
‘‘It’s about keeping them out of the court system,’’ he said.
The panel was designed to hold the offender accountable but also look at what supports needed to be in place to address what led to them breaking the law in the first place.
Borrell said there was no timeframe in place for when the panel might start in Taranaki as the focus was on getting the ground work right to ensure the initiative was a success.
‘‘We want to do this in partnership. We want to get this right.’’
While the initial talks could see it start in South Taranaki, Borrell said if it proved successful, it would extend right across the region.
‘‘I think it would really benefit Taranaki,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s an exciting opportunity to do something different around here.’’