Maori Designed and Delivered Initiatives

In 2006 the Government set in motion the Effective Interventions (EI) policy package that was instigated to determine and support options to bring about a reduction in criminal offending and the corresponding prison population. Interestingly an important facet of the EI was its desire to improve the justice systems responsiveness to Maori. Under the initiative Cabinet required Te Puni Kokiri (TPK) and the Ministry of Justice to work together and report back to the Cabinet Policy Commitee with what was termed a ‘Program of Action for Maori’ (PoAfM). PoAfM has aimed to inform policies, programmes and serices to reduce recidivist and first time offending and corresponding imprisonment rates for Maori. A small number of interventions have been funded via TPK to create an understanding of what works for Maori by utilising Matauranga Maori (Maori knowledge) and cultural values that aim to foster fair criminal justice outcomes. Te Whare Ruruhau o Meri is an example of one of those initiatives.