Kaitaia facility alternative to prison for mad not bad 26 Feb 2021 08:00 AM Photo: Radio Waatea Image Database.
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Ricky Houghton: Kaitaia facility alternative to prison for mad not bad
A far north community advocate wants to use Corrections’ Hokai Rangi strategy to bring some of its whanau home.
A far north community advocate wants to use Corrections’ Hokai Rangi strategy to bring some of its whanau home.
He Korowai Trust chief executive Ricky Houghton says the trust has built a 12-bed facility that is suitable for men on bail or electronic bail and can serve as an alternative to prison.
Sir Kim Workman
The Waikeria Prison situation brings back painful memories of my own. Between 1990 and 1993, as operational head of prisons in the then Department of Justice, I attempted to implement a reform strategy known as He Ara Hou (A New Way).
(File image).
Photo: Unsplash / Matthew Ansley
In 2019, the government committed to Hokai Rangi a visionary strategy to transform the prison system. He Ara Hou failed and closed down at the end of 1993 - Hokai Rangi has yet to succeed. There are lessons to be learned.
There are striking similarities. Prisons have always been places of extreme violence, and when prisoners are treated in such a way that they return to the community more violent, prisons become a cause of crime. For Māori, prisons have a history which insists on repeating itself.
Whānau of 17 men protesting at Waikeria Prison say they have come down from the rooftop of the top jail .
They told RNZ they believe the men are now in discussions with the Māori Party co-leader, Rawiri Waititi, who travelled to meet them this evening to assist with negotiations.
Photo: Supplied
The men have been holed up in a high-security building since Tuesday, when they lit several fires to protest against poor conditions. The building has since been extensively damaged and the Department of Corrections said it was unlikely to be used again.
Waititi earlier said he would listen and support the prisoner s call for justice and work towards a solution.