This Framework has been produced to guide the development of effective policy, interventions and research targeted at the reduction of Māori offending.
The Department recognises the need to be responsive to the Treaty of Waitangi by ensuring that Māori interests are protected and given appropriate priority in all aspects of the work the Department undertakes.
In addition to this the Department notes that Māori currently make up a disproportionately high percentage of the offender base.
The Department seeks to redress this imbalance, develop targeted interventions whose success can be measured and to do this through increasing Māori participation in the decision- making, and design and delivery of services.
Unless policies and their delivery mechanisms reflect Māori life experiences, Māori will continue to offend. Use of this framework will therefore contribute to the reduction of Māori re-offending.
The Framework for Reducing Māori Offending (FReMO) provides a new tool in understanding and developing policies and services that promote effective means for reducing Māori offending.
It is proposed as a test through which any initiative needs to be put in order to predict its outcome and ensure its effectiveness.
FReMO introduces a method of integrating Tikanga Māori with Western science and encourages effective consultation processes with Māori resource people to contribute to the development of effective policy, interventions and research.
This Framework is intended to encourage Departmental staff and other providers and consultants to think critically about Māori issues to ensure that policy, interventions and research contribute to reducing Māori offending. It sets out ways to efficiently include information about Māori, taking account of their values and perspectives. This process is also the foundation for cooperative and collaborative working relationships between users and Māori organisations and groups.