6 Nov 2019

Reducing number of Māori in the justice system by healing a 'severed relationship'

4:03 pm on 6 November 2019

Police have launched a new strategy to try to reduce the number of Māori in the justice system.

Prison jail cells bars incarceration generic

Photo: Unsplash / Matthew Ansley

Te Huringa o Te Tai looks to mend what has been described as a severed relationship with tangata whenua.

It replaces "2012 Māori", which aimed to decrease the number of Māori offenders by 10 percent.

Police Commissioner Mike Bush has launched the new strategy with iwi leaders in Wellington, and said it was a long-term approach to decrease victimisation and to reduce rates of offending among Māori by 25 percent over six years.

He said police would create partnerships with whānau, hapū and iwi to improve Māori well-being.