Purpose
The units
Aiga/fanau concept
Saili Matagi Violence Prevention Programme
Eligibility
Prisoner Obligations
Support from the local community
Purpose
Pacific people have a strong established culture in New Zealand. They make up over 10 per cent of the prison population. The Department acknowledges the important role Pacific communities have in working together to develop effective solutions to address Pacific offending needs.
In 2005, 48 per cent of Pacific offenders were sentenced for violent offences - this compared with 38 per cent and 25 per cent respectively for Maori and European offenders.
The Pacific Focus Unit - Vaka Fa'aola - at Spring Hill Corrections Facility (SHCF) has been established to help the Department address:
• a predicted increase in the Pacific offender population
• the seriousness of Pacific offending
• the high concentration of Pacific peoples residing in the South Auckland area - resulting in a need for a facility nearby to maintain family relationships
• the high number of Pacific youth offenders.
With support from the local Pacific community - the unit aims to reduce an offender's risk of reoffending by:
• providing an environment that supports a culture-based approach to rehabilitation and reintegration where high risk Pacific male prisoners are encouraged to address their offending behaviours by connecting with their culture
• reinforcing the prisoner's self identity and self image, so that they can develop positive ways of looking at themselves and the people around them. Positive perceptions can increase a prisoner’s responsiveness to other programmes that address their offending
• promoting the rejection of all forms of violence, including physical, emotional and sexual
• increasing an offender's links with his family, extended family, the church, the village and the whole community - community support is vital to an offender’s successful reintegration
• providing a platform for prisoners to complete the Saili Matagi violence prevention programme, or other structured day activity to assist rehabilitation and reintegration, such as Release To Work or other employment if appropriate.
The units
Spring Hill Corrections Facility is a 650 bed facility that accommodates prisoners with low to high security classifications. It is located 20 minutes south of Manukau City. The Pacific Focus Unit (PFU) is one half of an 88 bed unit, referred to as a wing. The Pacific Focus Unit is also referred to as 'Vaka Fa’aola', meaning 'the vessel bringing a message of life and growth'.
Vaka Fa'aola consists of two words - 'vaka' meaning a canoe in the languages of Tonga, Niue, The Cook Islands, Fiji and Tokelau, and 'fa'aola' meaning growth, life, saviour and hope in Samoan. The Unit was named by the SHCF Pacific Advisory Group
In close proximity to the unit is the world's first traditional Pacific prison based fale (meeting house). Literally meaning ‘shelter, protection, or cover from the elements’ it is significant in Pacific cultures as being the meeting place and forum for important discussion for families, the village, and the wider community. The fale is a cultural space for prisoners and is similar to other cultural spaces such as the Papamauri (Maori) at Auckland Region Women's Corrections Facility. The fale is used predominantly by prisoners on the Saili Matagi programme, but is available for use by other groups at the prison manager's discretion.
Catering for all Pacific Island 'cultures' individually is a difficult task. As such, the unit utilises the holistic approach of focussing on commonalities rather than differences.
The prisoner ethnicity breakdown of the unit is generally:
• 50 per cent Samoan
• 25 per cent Cook Islanders
• 15 per cent Tongan or Niuean
• 10 per cent other smaller Pacific nations.
Aiga/fanau concept
The aiga/fanau or traditional Pacific family unit is responsible for the welfare and wellbeing of its members. The concept is a significant cultural factor, incorporating key values and beliefs including:
• Identity and belonging: O le tagata ma lona aiga, o le tagata ma lona fa’asinomaga - every person belongs to an aiga/fanau and every aiga/fanau belongs to a person
• respect: an expected behaviour, including towards elders, parents, women and children
• teamwork: all aiga/fanau members striving to work together to achieve common goals
• maintaining relationships
All members of the unit, including staff and prisoners will work together to model and demonstrate these concepts.
Saili Matagi Violence Prevention Programme
In 2005, 48 per cent of the Pacific offending population were sentenced for violent offences - this compared with 38 per cent and 25 per cent respectively for Maori and European offenders. The Saili Matagi violence prevention programme is run in the PFU and targeted at prisoners who identify as people of the Pacific, are convicted of repetitive, serious violent offending, and who have a moderate to high risk of reoffending. The programme runs for 28 weeks and aims to reduce the rate of violent offending among Pacific peoples, encourage prisoners to identify and change attitudes, beliefs and behaviours that led to their offending and provide men on the programme skills to change their behaviour.
Eligibility
To be admitted to the Pacific Focus Unit prisoners must:
• identify as Tagata Pasefika (people of the Pacific)
• successfully complete the Pacific Focus Unit pre-entry assessment
• attain low-medium security classification
• acknowledge the importance of the church in relation with Pacific people
• be identified as appropriate during development of the prisoner's sentence plan
• have a sufficient sentence length to allow for a four month placement in the unit
• agree to be placed in the unit, and abide by the unit code of conduct.
The prisoner may also be scheduled to complete the Saili Matagi Violence Prevention Programme and be placed in the unit to be housed with other participants of the programme.
Prisoner Obligations
Prisoners must adhere to the agreement for living in a Pacific Focus unit, which includes:
• remaining drug free - including alcohol
• no stealing from or intimidating other prisoners or staff
• no gang related activity (hand signals, language, prospecting) or possession of gang insignia or marked possessions
• no tattooing - oneself, or other prisoners
• no spitting in the unit
• no swearing or using abusive language towards any other person
• attendance of all scheduled interventions - such as therapy or programmes
• maintaining a reasonable standard of personal hygiene.
Prisoners are also expected to take responsibility for their own actions and outcomes, work toward reducing their risk of reoffending, learn and apply better skills for interacting with fellow prisoners or staff, and show respect to all people who live, work and visit the unit regardless of their offence/s or ethnicity.
Support from the local community
The active participation of families and Pacific service providers such as the Church is an essential part of the aiga fanau approach.
The Regional Adviser Pacific (based at Spring Hill Corrections Facility) liaises between the Department and Pacific Island communities so that formal relationships are enhanced with all Pacific Island ethnic communities.
Fautua Pasefika are volunteers from the local Pacific community, and they assist in addressing the cultural, spiritual, religious and other special needs of Pacific prisoners, and advocate on behalf of Pacific families and communities to the Minister of Corrections and the Department to enhance the wellbeing of Pacific prisoners. Fautua Pasefika work nationwide in different prisons. The Fautua Pasefika for Spring Hill Corrections Facility advise on best practice and cultural issues in the Pacific Focus Unit to ensure the unit is culturally safe and maintains integrity.
Spring Hill Corrections Facility has an advisory group consisting of eight members from Pacific communities in the South Auckland and Hamilton areas. The group has provided contacts for programme providers, and the opportunity for the site Programmes Manager to speak with providers.
Separate from the SHCF advisory group, the Pacific Focus Unit Advisory Committee meet every fortnight to provide cultural advice to the PFU Unit Manager. The Pacific Island members of this committee also visit the unit and spend time supporting prisoners.