The Kaiwhakahaere role being trialled to help probation officers establish more effective relationships with Māori offenders appears to be bringing about marked improvements in the lives of offenders and their whanau.
Probation officers selected for the trial are working closely with government departments, educational and health providers and Māori community agencies, to establish better community support networks for offenders on community-based sentences.
It only took Probation Officer Natalia Taurima (Kaiwhakahaere for the Waitemata area) two months to see how effective this approach can be.
"One offender I'm working with is trying to re-establish his whanau connections which were severed due to his offending," says Natalia.
"Sadly, one of his sons was going down the same path as he had. So by working with Child Youth and Family Service (CYFS) we were able to secure a boarding school scholarship for the boy.
"While dealing with the offender is CPPS' (Community Probation & Psychological Services) immediate concern, it's also about rehabilitation and giving them an ordered family environment that can better support and sustain them once we're out of the picture."
Kaiwhakahaere for the Wellington area Terry Snijder has also seen positive change in offenders he's worked with.
He recently convinced an offender who had strongly resisted any form of rehabilitation, to attend a tikanga Māori programme on his release from prison.
"He didn't want to have anything to do with it, but I persevered and encouraged him to ask me questions about the programmes available," says Terry. "Once he understood what was involved he agreed to attend and now he's keen to participate in other programmes to address his offending."
CPPS established the trial Kaiwhakahaere role based on the premise that better communication and understanding between probation officers and offenders will lead to better sentence compliance and more opportunity for probation officers to work in a culturally sensitive manner.
A review of the pilot scheme will be carried out in six months or so to determine the future shape, direction and long term viability of the role within CPPS.
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ISSN 1178-8453