A chance for breakthroughs, healing
An iwiled initiative is giving lowlevel offenders a second chance at doing the right thing. Daisy Hudson spoke to those who believe the Te Pae Oraka programme is making a real difference in the South.
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I think the system is really open to thinking about new ways of criminal justice and criminal justice outcomes. If we keep on doing the same thing, we’ll get the same results
Southern district commander Superintendent Paul Basham
IF you think throwing the book at offenders is the only way to deal with crime, Nicola Taylor wants you to think again.
For the past year, Mrs Taylor has seen just how confronting — and rewarding — a different approach can be.
She is one of the panellists for Te Pae Oraka, a community justice panel based in Dunedin that deals with lowlevel offending.
Called Te Pae Oranga nationally (Te Pae Oraka is in the local Kai Tahu dialect), the programme began in 2013 when panels were established in the Hutt Valley, Gisborne and Manukau.
It has since expanded to encompass 20 locations, including Invercargill in 2018 and Dunedin at the end of May last year.
Locally it is a partnership between police and Dunedin company A3 Kaitiaki Ltd, whose directors are Janine Kapa, Joanna Kingi, Matenga Gray, Megan Potiki, Michelle McDonald and Donna McTainsh.
Referrals are made for crimes at the lower end of the scale, such as shoplifting, driving offences, common assault and trespass.
Outcomes range from apologies and reparations to victims through to counselling, referrals to addiction services and driving lessons.
The aim is to prevent reoffending by addressing the root causes of it, through partnerships with iwi and using te ao Maori values.
After four decades working in support roles, including at Anglican Care and what was then Child, Youth and Family, Mrs Taylor was exposed to the power of restorative justice and mediated approaches to resolving conflict.
That experience made the idea of joining Te Pae Oraka appealing.
‘‘I knew that this was going to be something amazing,’’ she said.
Three people sit on a panel at a time, with Mrs Taylor sitting on a panel about every three to four weeks.
A participant is referred to the panel by police, and they undergo an initial preinterview. Then they appear before the panel, a process Mrs Taylor said could be quite confronting.
‘‘We do our best to make people comfortable and relaxed, because we’re going to be asking some very personal and intense questions once we get into it.
‘‘Every person who comes to the notice of police and who comes in has a backstory.’’
The other key player in the process was the victim.
Victims often attended and spoke at panels, or had a victim impact statement read on their behalf.
‘‘Sometimes hearing that for the first time is quite a huge breakthrough. I’ve seen moments of amazing reconciliation, of forgiveness, to the point where it can become quite emotional.’’
The panellists were looking for the participant to take responsibility for their actions, and to come up with a way they could make things right.
She recalls a case where the participant came before the panel deeply troubled, embarrassed and overwhelmed.
He detailed his personal circumstances and things that had happened to him as a child, which created a bigger picture about why he had offended.
‘‘He left that panel with, I believe, a great sense of hope for his future and a belief that he could make changes in his situation.’’
In the first year of the Otago Coastal programme, between the end of May last year and June this year, 134 people were referred.
Ninetyseven of those referrals were last year, and 62 of them (or 63%) have fully completed their requirements.
Fourteen people did not complete the programme, either by failing to attend their panel or not finishing their plan.
They were either issued a formal warning or proceeded to prosecution.
Te Pae Oraka has been running in Invercargill since February 2018, as a partnership between Nga Kete Matauranga Pounamu and police.
Since then, 551 cases have been referred.
Te Pae Oraka does more than address an offence and the harm caused, supported resolution coordinator Sergeant Paul Lowe says.
For one participant the processes enabled literacy skills support to write an appreciation letter, and to write aCV.
‘‘This then led to full time employment, enabling the participant to achieve their goal to better support their young whanau.’’
Another participant was referred after being caught speeding while on an expired learner licence.
Having been in and out of the criminal justice system from a young age, and being a 501
returnee to New
Zealand, the person had been unable to find accommodation and had purchased a car to sleep in.
Through Te Pae Oraka panel processes they agreed to pay to reinstate their learner licence and were connected to driving sessions and mentoring to achieve their restricted licence.
They were also connected with drug and alcohol counselling and linked with an employment connection coordinator. police.’’
The Government appears to share that view.
Budget 2021 included
$70 million in new operational funding for the programme.
ThenPolice Minister Poto Williams said that by understanding ‘‘what works for Maori works for everyone’’, Te Pae Oraka was a key enabler of a more humane criminal justice system.
But National Party police spokesman Simeon Brown was critical, saying 59% of people being referred failed to complete their programme.
‘‘Alternative resolutions have a place for lowlevel offending, however the Government also needs to ensure people who are referred to these services are completing the requirements of the programme and not getting away with a light touch,’’ he said.
An evaluation published in 2019 showed the programme reduced harm from reoffending by 22%.
Southern district commander Superintendent Paul Basham recently sat in on a panel where a person was appearing on driving matters.
The man attended with his partner and they were both really nervous beforehand, he said.
‘‘At the end of that process, both people were effusive in how they described the way they had been treated through that hour, the difference in the experience as opposed to some more traditional modes of accountability in the system, and were really positive.
‘‘It’s quite powerful. It was only an hour, they came in quite nervous and they left with their mana intact and uplifted.’’
He felt there was a more powerful connection between the offender and victim than might otherwise occur in a more traditional setting.
‘‘The court system, in terms of serious offending, has its place, and everyone understands that, but I think the magic or the mana of Te Pae Oraka might be grounded in those principles or values that are so apparent in Te Ao Maori.’’
If there were going to be better outcomes, particularly for Maori, then it was important mana whenua were involved from the start, he said.
There are plans to potentially expand that magic to programmes for rangatahi and lowlevel family violence.
‘‘I think the system is really open to thinking about new ways of criminal justice and criminal justice outcomes. If we keep on doing the same thing, we’ll get the same results.’’