Our Community

As of 30th of June 2024, 9638 people were incarcerated in New Zealand (World Prison Brief). 1

The majority of offenders in New Zealand are on probation, serving their sentence in the community rather than in prison.

Around 26,000 offenders serving community-based sentences at any given time (Ara Poutama Aotearoa | Department of Corrections). 2

According to the Justice Department (Ministry of Justice) 3, the current situation is as follows:

We have a high imprisonment rate compared to the rest of the OECD

  • There are around 170 people in prison per 100,000 New Zealanders, compared to the OECD average of around 147 prisoners per 100,000 people.

Māori are overrepresented at every stage in the criminal justice system

  • Māori are 37% of people proceeded against by Police, 45% of people convicted, and 52% of people in prison.

  • This is despite Māori being only approximately 15% of the New Zealand population.

Our reoffending rates are high

  • Around 56.5% of people with previous convictions are reconvicted within 2 years following release from prison.

  • Around 35.8% are re-imprisoned after 2 years following release from prison.

Most people that are in the criminal justice system have been abused

  • 53% of women and 15% of men in prison have experienced a sexual assault.

  • 77% of people in prison have been victims of violence.

Over the past two decades, there has been a notable shift in the local social landscape. More gangs have arrived in the MidCentral District with younger and more violent members creating increased tension across the community. The Midcentral District population is 175,000 with 20.6% of the population Māori (2018 Census). 4

The programme will be run out of the Te Wakahuia Trust located in the heart of the Highbury making our initial local catchment from the Highbury community. Highbury East has the highest deprivation score (10/10) on the New Zealand Index of Deprivation (2018 and 2023) 5 and has a population of 2,958 of which 40% are Māori and 15% Pacific whānau (2018 Census). 6

REFS:

1 World Prison Brief. (n.d.). New Zealand. Retrieved 30 October 2024 from

https://www.prisonstudies.org/country/new-zealand

2 Ara Poutama Aotearoa | Department of Corrections. (n.d.) In the Community. Retrieved 30

October 2024 from https://www.corrections.govt.nz/our_work/in_the_community Registration of Interest Form Page 3 of 7

3 Ministry of Justice. (n.d.). Hāpaitia te Oranga Tangata | Safe and Effective Justice. Retrieved

30 October 2024 from https://www.justice.govt.nz/justice-sector-policy/key-initiatives/key-

initiatives-archive/hapaitia-te-oranga-tangata/

4 Statistics New Zealand | Tatauranga Aotearoa. (2020, March 12). Statistical area 1 dataset for

2018 Census – updated March 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2024 from https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/statistical-area-1-dataset-for-2018-census-updated-march-2020

5 Environmental Health Intelligence New Zealand | Rapu Mātauranga Hauora mo te Taiao –

Aotearoa. (n.d.) Socioeconomic Deprivation Profile. Retrieved 30 October 2024 from

https://www.ehinz.ac.nz/indicators/population-vulnerability/socioeconomic-deprivation-

profile/#new-zealand-index-of-deprivation-nzdep

6 Statistics New Zealand | Tatauranga Aotearoa. (n.d.). Highbury East. Retrieved 30 October 2024

from https://www.stats.govt.nz/tools/2018-census-place-summaries/highbury-east