Inspector looks to Te Pae Oranga to help whānau reach their aspirations
Tuesday, 30 March 2021
An alternative justice panel with a te ao Māori kaupapa approach is in the works to hit Palmerston North.
Te Pae Oranga Iwi Community Panels are for low-level offenders, holding them accountable while giving support to address the issues in their lives that led to their offending.
The initiative was operating in 16 areas across New Zealand, with police aspiring to expand to 40 sites.
Acting area commander Inspector Clifford Brown was hopeful in the next 12 months Manawatū would see the funded operation.
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He hoped it would help local whānau who found themselves in the justice system seek out greater moemoeā, aspirations, for themselves.
In lieu of Te Pae Oranga in Manawatū, the region developed a Whānau Ora Alternative Resolution model in 2014 to help whānau transition from criminal activity, by focusing on underlying issues which contributed to unsociable lifestyles.
But Brown said it had put significant pressure on police partners such as Te Tihi o Ruahine Whānau Ora Alliance who largely supported the initiative within their own budget.
“Undoubtedly we are very fortunate that there are existing service providers that continue to step up to meet that demand.
“Te Pae Oranga is a parallel, and the beauty with that is, they come with funding.
“We see good opportunity into the future in Te Pae Oranga for our Manawatū and Whanganui regions.”
Each referral would cost about $1400, Brown said, but the benefits to the justice system, police and whānau were tenfold.
Police discovered from the 39 people who engaged with the pilot resolution model, 22 people showed no reoffending or a reduction in their ‘harm cost’.
Brown said their costs dropped from $550,000 to $105,000 per year because whānau received the support they needed to turn their lives around, rather than putting them back in the court system.
However, as whānau moved away from the support systems they relied on, some whānau began to present in the courts again, he said.
With the addition of Te Pae Oranga, whānau would have interregional support to keep striving for their moemoeā.
”It’s just giving opportunities to get our people to think a little bit differently,” he said.
“Te Pae Oranga is open to everyone in the community, it’s not just limited to Māori.
“If someone is prepared to engage in a kaupapa Māori approach, ka pai. The approach and the thinking of our iwi has always been tatou katoa, they're all our whānau so we’ll support them in any way we can.”