Wrap-around support aims to reduce offending
When Sergeant Stephen Mariu first heard his South Auckland police unit referred to as the ‘‘team that hugs’’, he was a bit miffed. But the 33-year police veteran now sees it as something of a badge of honour.
For the past 18 months, Mariu and his neighbourhood policing team have championed change in east Papakura – and they’ve done it their way.
The label isn’t so much about literally hugging criminals – although they’re no strangers to close contact. Most Thursday nights, the uniformed team will sit down to a community dinner with some offenders at the Papakura Marae.
But the label is really shorthand for the way the team wraps support around people.
Within three days of an offender’s arrest, Mariu’s team visits their home. They’ll walk into the house and say: how do we stop you re-offending?
Often it starts by opening the fridge and looking for empties in the recycling bin.
‘‘The quick fix is the Salvation Army, the [Papakura] Marae ... [we] take them down and get them a food parcel,’’ Mariu said.
‘‘That’s the easy fix. But it’s just for today and the next few days. What’s next? The next thing is they need a job and they need to make sure they’re on the proper benefits.’’
So off they go to the local Work and Income office, where a police officer will stand in the queue until their charge has secured a follow-up appointment. Other times, the police team will take young offenders out for the day, for a bush walk or other activity.
‘‘It’s a new concept,’’ Mariu said of his team’s approach to its target of reducing offending by Ma¯ ori by 25 per cent.
‘‘Are we tracking well on that? ‘‘Yes. We are tracking very well.’’ In his eyes, two of the biggest challenges facing the people he interacts with are poverty and synthetic drugs.
‘‘[Synthetic drugs are] the biggest thing we’ve got going on here [in Papakura]. In my eyes, it far outweighs the damage that meth is doing,’’ he said.
‘‘We’ve lost a lot of good kids in and around this area. And when I say good kids, they’re young criminals but they’re good.
‘‘You know they’re good, they’re just a product of their environment. They’re third- and fourth- generation beneficiaries, third- and fourth- generation criminals. Where is the hope?’’
Isn’t this concept – of holding people’s hands as they attempt to change – time-consuming?
‘‘Yes it is,’’ Mariu said. ‘‘But the way I look at it, if I spend three or four hours with someone at my rate which is say $50 an hour, that’s $200.
‘‘And if I can help them into a job, that’s $200 very well spent.
‘‘If we look at them going straight through a court process, it’s probably $1000 a process – just for the first appearance, with all the court time, cops’ time, custodial sergeants’ time, prosecutors’ time. You look at in that way [and] it works really well.’’
Mariu will bid South Auckland farewell on August 27 to take up a role with Nelson police as an iwi liaison officer.
He has handed the torch to another officer in his unit.
Acting Inspector Matt Hoyes said Mariu had a real understanding that policing was ‘‘not a one size fits all and intervention has to be tailored to individual, whanau and community needs’’.