31 March
The effort made by offenders on Community Work sentences is going a long way towards helping Timaru become graffiti free.
Community Probation & Psychological Services Timaru Manager Kevin Foley says Corrections has been heavily involved with the Timaru District Council’s Totally Against Graffiti (TAG) project.
“Community Work sentences require offenders to do unpaid work in the community for non-profit organisations as reparation for their offending. Helping the TAG project to remove graffiti is one such way work done by offenders can benefit the community.”
The work being done on the TAG project has clearly been appreciated.
“At a recent Safer Communities meeting it was noted how well the project is going - with 47 out of 52 reported tags cleaned up, almost all of which were removed by offenders on Community Work sentences.”
Not only is the level of work appreciated, but it also seems to be having a strong deterrent effect, as to date none of the sites have been retagged.
Timaru District Safer Communities also recognised the great effort being made, by awarding two Corrections Community Work Supervisors - Moetu Morunga and Sam Reihana, Certificates of Appreciation for their good work on the TAG project. Both certificates were signed by Timaru Mayor Janie Annear.
Kevin says while the removal of unsightly graffiti benefits the community as a whole, having offenders on Community Work sentences involved in the TAG project also provides wider benefits.
“Community Work is a practical way to help offenders learn work habits, this can assist with getting future employment, which has been shown to greatly reduce the chances of further offending, which in turn makes the community safer.
“The offenders also get a real sense of pride from their efforts. They’re giving back something to the community, which is a positive outcome for the offenders, as they can see their hard work benefiting other people.”
For further information contact the Communications Services Desk:
Phone: (04) 460 3365
Email: commdesk@corrections.govt.nz
After hours: (021) 761 828
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