Aotearoa New Zealand's Situation
Aotearoa New Zealand has one of the highest rates of incarceration in the western world.*
NZ's prison population is composed overwhelmingly of men who have experienced poverty, neglect and violence as children.* They are men who have had their beginnings defined by experiences they could not control, and futures determined by processes over which they have limited power.
![](https://dzpdbgwih7u1r.cloudfront.net/96a71388-3b78-4a23-affd-5fe4041b2f02/9c9b4ef2-c6e2-4bfa-a48d-8fbd70886d3c/9c9b4ef2-c966-49ea-b840-f0b600ec8aa1/w1000h498-c85f5168fe66207fcc35779166d05d21.png)
“Sticking us in jail ain’t gonna do nothing … when we get out …. we go back to doing what we did before … and when we come back [to prison], that’s okay, we know how it goes, we’ve been here before”.
A system that struggles
Without effective resolution and healing of their trauma, most men in prison have graduated from Oranga Tamariki Care and Protection, Youth Justice and/or mental health services, into a punitive system that sees incarceration result in a greater degree of reoffending than any other form of punishment. Of these rangatahi, 77% will be re-sentenced within two years of their release from prison.*
The evidence is clear
- Incarceration does not deter crime, relieve the fear of crime, or improve victim support.
- Prisons reduce public safety by leading to increased offending.
- It is a more positive investment (both financially and socially) to address the causes of crime and to divert individuals from reoccurring interactions with the justice system.*
Te Kāhu Tiu provides that positive alternative; a community based justice reinvestment programme to secure better futures, for us all.
Te Kāhu Tiu will provide a therapeutic, educational and cultural learning environment for rangatahi.
![Aspire to 'save' our rangatahi from incarceration and to simultaneously give them wings.](https://dzpdbgwih7u1r.cloudfront.net/96a71388-3b78-4a23-affd-5fe4041b2f02/9c9b4f3e-82ae-4b0d-953b-f146bd2b728c/9c9b4f3e-8558-446f-9312-efd03c13cf37/w2000h1112-246a19591a741ca86350e98383865d90.png)
“The current state is a social and economic cost that we as a country cannot afford.”