Offender case management: Reducing the rate of reoffending by Māori

Abstract

In New Zealand, the number of offenders who continue to commit crime after leaving prison or completing community-based sentences is high, with the likelihood of reoffending much higher for Māori. The Police, Iwi (Māori tribe) and the Department of Corrections (the New Zealand Government agency responsible for prisons and correctional facilities, community probation, and parole services) have set clear goals to reduce the level of crime and the rate of reoffending. A decrease in reoffending will benefit society in terms of reduced costs to the justice system, less crime, safer communities and fewer victims. There is growing international evidence that offender case management is effective at reducing reoffending. The collaborative approach brings together representatives from the justice system, local authorities and other organisations to work alongside offenders who are due for release from prison. This article presents the results of Project Kete, a joint initiative between A3K (an organisation that provides support for Māori clients), the Police and the Department of Corrections. Sixteen high-risk Māori offenders nearing the end of their sentences received intensive support and supervision to help them reintegrate into the community. The results are encouraging. All 16 offenders remained out of prison as at December 2014 – a 100% reduction in the expected reimprisonment rate – and the 1-year reconviction rate was 33% versus a predicted rate of 48%.

The Experiences of the Managed: case management in the Aotearoa New Zealand prison system

“…One of the most important factors in this relationship is trust. The development of trusting personal relationships between case managers and people in prison is a notoriously difficult undertaking, but is possible (Sullivan, McDonald and Thomson, 2016).…”

“…Emergence of case management in Aotearoa New Zealand's prisons Sentence planning, rehabilitation programmes and cultural responsiveness Despite the issues faced, there is an evidence base supporting the overall efficacy of case management (Sullivan, McDonald and Thomson, 2016), and thus it was introduced in Aotearoa New Zealand's prisons in 2011. Case managers replaced the role of sentence planners when the new system was introduced.…”

“…1 Case management, broadly, is a complex interpersonal relationship between a person in prison and the professionals responsible for their care (White and Graham, 2010), comprising a range of roles, including sentence planning, course scheduling, managing disciplinary issues, supporting engagement with therapeutic and educational programmes, and assisting the individual with transition from prison to the community on release (Thorby, 2013). This shift in approach from sentence planning -arguably an early model of case management -was well informed by international research and best practice models (for instance, see Godley et al, 2000;Leutwyler, Hubbard and Zahnd, 2017;Porporino and Robert, 1982;Sullivan, McDonald and Thomson, 2016).…”

Employment and the Post-Release Puzzle: The Lived Experience of Securing Legitimate Work among Women Released from Prison in New Zealand

“…This means that in New Zealand, as at March 2019, there were 44,950 individuals involved with the criminal justice system, many of whom were likely to be in need of/currently utilising some form of post-release assistance. Previous statistics show that in 2012, reimprisonment rates within 12 months of release were at 26.7%, while reconviction rates were 44.2% (Sullivan, McDonald, & Thomson, 2016). This means that over 44% of people released from prison had a new conviction within one year of release, and of these, over a quarter returned to prison.…”

“…New Zealand is a prime example of this. As of March 2019, 51.3% of the total prison population were Māori (The Department of Corrections, 2019b), despite Māori only constituting 12.7% of the general population over the age of 15 (the age is relevant as New Zealand prisons do not house people under the age of 17) (Sullivan et al, 2016). With the general lack of information on women in prison in New Zealand, it was difficult to find up-to-date statistics about the characteristics of these women.…”