Addressing the Drivers of Crime Justice Strategic Policy Unit

A new approach to criminal offending and victimisation is intended to reduce crime Minister of Justice - Hon Simon Power “For too long, the debate has been fixated on how we deal with offenders after the fact. We need to change that. Now it's time to commence a discussion about how we stop crime happening in the first place.”

Minister Power and Minister Sharples co-hosted a Ministerial Meeting on the Drivers of Crime The meeting on 3 April 2009 was attended by over 100 invited participants from a range of organisations and backgrounds, and with a common interest and expertise in dealing with and preventing crime and victimisation. Two main points emerged from the breakout discussions on the underlying drivers of crime at the meeting.

First, there is no one simple answer about what drives crime The interplay of risk factors stemming from family, community and educational environments drives crime. Issues of alcohol and drug use and mental health contribute to the risk of offending. The justice system response to crime further exacerbates the situation.

Secondly, the underlying drivers of crime are similar for Māori and non-Māori It is the prevalence of risk factors (such as poverty, transience, young mothers, sole parent families) that tends to be higher for Māori. These are linked to the ongoing impact of colonisation, urbanisation, and the slow pace of Treaty of Waitangi settlements which have led to a loss of cultural identity and support structures.

We have developed an approach to address the drivers of crime The proceedings have been published and submissions were called for by 15 May (see Overall, the discussion at the Ministerial Meeting and the submissions were: –consistent with the literature –provided a practical knowledge of the NZ context, and –provided a general sense of priorities Based on the discussions, submissions and the literature, we have developed a broad approach to address the drivers of crime.

The approach for addressing the drivers of crime clusters them into three general groupings Identifying the drivers of crime Addressing the drivers of crime What to do and How to do it Family, Community and Education Factors Build Strong Families and Communities Focus on families and communities with an increased risk of offending and victimisation Facilitators and Contributors of Crime Reduce the Impact of Facilitators and Contributors of Crime Focus on individuals and families who have specific needs associated with offending and victimisation Justice System Factors Deliver Fair and Effective Justice Focus on justice system responses to those who have already offended

The approach needs to change the path for Māori, or it will not work Overall approach is consistent with what needs to be done to address the drivers of crime for Māori in the criminal justice system. Appropriate responses for Māori may however include: –Giving Māori ownership and a voice in the development and delivery of programmes and services; –taking whānau concepts into account; and –building resilience within communities. Must also ensure the justice system operates in a way that does not alienate or unfairly disadvantage Māori.

Addressing the drivers of crime requires changes across the Justice and Social sectors Many of the “levers” for reducing offending and victimisation are located in sectors such as education, health, social and community development Some of our responses to crime and management of offenders lead to increased offending Get serious about reducing the over-representation of Māori in the criminal justice system, as both the victims and perpetrators of crime

We need to address multi-factor issues requiring long term investment across many agencies Ministerial leadership and support is essential to an enduring whole of government approach We need to work with colleagues in other sectors to help ensure that practical initiatives are well aligned and work in ways that reduce offending and victimisation We need to build on work we already do to embed a focus on reducing offending and victimisation in the “business as usual” activities of social, health and education sector providers

11 We need to address the way the justice sector works We need to work with colleagues in the rest of the justice sector to reduce the impact of the justice sector’s policies and practices as drivers of crime

We must focus on Value for Money No money and no new people means we need to be more innovative and more discerning in what we do and how we ensure VfM

Next steps going forward Analysis of submissions from Ministerial Meeting on Drivers of Crime by end of May 2009 Briefing to Minister on next steps by end of May 2009 Draft Cabinet Paper on ‘Addressing Drivers of Crime’ for consultation from early June to early July 2009 –High level paper looking at the ‘areas of focus’, governance and roles and responsibilities –Internal engagement across the Ministry and wide consultation externally Tight timelines due to Minister’s interest in maintaining momentum and deadline for signalling any initiatives with financial reprioritisation implications required before end of August