Enhancing capability will ensure that all staff have the ability to ‘succeed for Māori offenders’.
We will equip our people with policies, systems, tools and working environments that enable them to achieve this.
We are effective in enhancing capability when we:
Progress to date
The Department recently enhanced its structure to strengthen our ability to work collaboratively in achieving our goals. This will assist us in working in a more integrated way with Māori offenders, their whānau, hapū, iwi and other Māori community groups.
The Department provides its people with a range of training and development opportunities on an ongoing basis. In particular, it provides opportunities to build the core skills of staff, develop leadership capability and improve responsiveness to Māori.
A range of initiatives have been designed, developed and implemented to prepare staff in their work with Māori offenders, whānau, hapū, iwi and other Māori community groups. For example:
There are also a number of volunteers and staff who help staff in their work with Māori offenders, their whānau, hapū, iwi and other Māori community groups. For example:
Recruitment campaigns and wānanga targeted specifically at Māori communities have been successful in attracting Māori staff. For example, at Tongariro/Rangipo Prison, Māori staff networks have initiated a recruitment strategy resulting in an increase in Māori applicants and the subsequent recruitment of Corrections Officers.
Staff networks have also been active across groups, services, areas and regions. Within Community Probation & Psychological Service, area and regional networks contribute to maintain valued community networks and to the development of local level plans and strategies.
A Māori mentoring programme – Amohia Ai – has also been developed. This programme aims to focus on non-managerial Māori staff being mentored by internal Māori managers. This will help raise Māori leadership capability across the Department.
The Māori cultural practices policy provides good quality advice on incorporating Māori processes into the Department’s business. For example, the policy supports tikanga Māori based prison environments, acknowledges the role of tangata whenua and provides learning opportunities for Māori offenders. The policy also clarifies the roles of staff and, in particular, supports managers in promoting te reo Māori when leading events.
Tangata whenua have also played a key role in the design and development of our new prisons such as Papamauri (cultural building) at the Auckland Women’s Regional Corrections Facility.
Looking forward
This Māori Strategic Plan is a tool for all departmental staff. In addition to providing staff with an understanding of the Māori world view and an understanding about the factors contributing to Māori offending, it outlines how we as a Department aim to succeed for Māori offenders.
The shared services model operating at regional and area levels through management teams across groups and services provides us with an opportunity to consider the following aspects of our business:
Providing our people with the capability to work effectively with Māori offenders, whānau, hapū, iwi and other Māori communities will be a key focus area if we are to succeed for Māori offenders.
Recruitment strategies that target Māori communities will help us maintain our high ratio of Māori staff. Using te reo Māori in advertisements and advertising in Māori publications as well as recruiting specifically from universities, wānanga and Māori community events will positively promote the work of the Department and provide more role models for Māori offenders.
Encouraging and supporting staff who are motivated to work together as a network can help to maintain staff motivation. These networks can also help to identify local opportunites, where we can make greater and more positive contributions towards succeeding for Māori offenders in the Māori world - Te Ao Māori - and in the global world - Te Ao Hurihuri.
Continuing to support Māori staff with leadership potential will help us to further strengthen our core business to improve outcomes for Māori offenders. For example, through internal Māori mentoring programmes or specifically tailored external leadership development programmes.
Considering a Te Ao Māori perspective, or impacts on Māori offenders in the development of strategies, policies, programmes and services will mean a more effective approach for Māori offenders, their whānau, communities and wider society. This can be achieved through the FReMO tool – a Framework for Reducing Māori Offending – in the development of all our work, be it operational or strategic.development programmes.
What progress will look like
We will know we are successful when we see:
“We need to take Māori issues seriously. All staff need an understanding of why the rates of imprisonment for Māori offenders are so high! If we all work together, we can start to make a difference.” - Prison Services staff member