Human Rights and Prisons - Rethinking Crime and Punishment

the general population aged 15 and over, but they account for over 51% of the
prison population (Human Rights Commission, 2009:3.50). This overrepresentation
is even more acute within the female estate as Māori account
for approximately 60% of women prisoners.
The Department of Corrections (2008:27) has recently noted that „Research
shows that more than 30 per cent of all Māori males between the ages of 20
and 29 years have a record of serving one or more sentences administered by
the Department of Corrections; the corresponding figure for non-Māori is
around 10 per cent‟.
The over-representation of Māori within the prison system has been the
subject of much international concern. The UN Human Rights Committee
(2010), the UN Human Rights Council (2009), the UN Committee against
Torture (2009) and the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination have each recommended that New Zealand focus its attention
on combating overrepresentation and discrimination within the criminal justice
system.
Explanations for this over-representation are varied (see Bull, 2009;
Department of Corrections, 2007). Beyond explanations of criminal justice
bias, it does appear that differential experiences with regards to the
attainment of rights within wider New Zealand communities contribute to the
increased incarceration of Māori and Pacific Island people. Issues of
inequalities along social, economic, educational, employment and health lines
are all positively correlated with (i) offending behaviour (ii) police
apprehension, and (iii) incarceration. Moreover, these factors – or social,
economic and cultural violations of human rights – will also impact negatively
on penal attempts to rehabilitate prisoners. For example, a prisoner who does
not have a fixed address is disadvantaged in applications for parole on home
detention; a prisoner with limited literacy will struggle to gain stable
employment on release; similarly, a lack of job training and experience will
disadvantage prisoners in the community.
In recent documentation, the Human Rights Commission (2009:3.53) has
called for the government to commit to specific targets and timelines for
reducing the disproportionate number of Māori in prison. As noted above, this
call has been reiterated at international (United Nations) levels.
Culturally Specific Programmes
The Department of Corrections offers specific provisions for Māori prisoners.
These programmes and services have been developed in close collaboration
with Māori service providers, community and iwi groups. They include:
Tikanga Māori programmes that teach cultural knowledge, skills and
identity. There is evidence that strengthening „the cultural identity of
Māori offenders improves their attitudes and behaviours, and motivates
them to participate in other forms of rehabilitation‟ (Department of
Corrections, 2008:28).
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