Newsletter 105, July 2012
In this Issue:

Māori Over-representation in the Criminal Justice System –Does Structural Discrimination Have anything to do with it?

In recent years, politicians and senior public service managers, have openly acknowledged the differential between Māori and non-Māori offending. There is general agreement that adverse early-life experiences, and social and environmental factors contribute significantly to high Māori offending rates, which in turn impact on offending patterns. At the same time they have resisted the idea that there exists any deliberate ethnic bias, structural discrimination, or personal racism within the system. In this, the final paper addressing the Prime Minister’s Strategy to Reduce Crime and Reoffending, we explore the issue of structural discrimination and personal racism within the criminal justice system, and consider what steps might be necessary to reduce it.

Changes to Three Strikes and Mandatory Minimum Sentencing in USA

Of the 24 states that passed three strikes laws in the early 1990s, at least 16 have since modified them to give judges more discretion in sentencing or narrow the types of crimes that count as a “strike,” The changes are part of a broader rethinking of many of the “tough on crime” sentencing policies that dominated the country for decades.. including diverting low-level drug offenders into treatment; reforming the parole system; and granting early release to certain inmates.

Greg King, New Zealand's most well-known criminal lawyer, has just returned from an Eisenhower Fellowship study tour, to look at problem solving courts and new approaches into the judicial oversight of offenders.. Greg does not believe that New Zealand should over-specialise in the proliferation of Courts. . He proposes a 'one size fits all' Management Court, with wide powers to provide judicial oversight and management of offenders in the community, including those who are re-entering society from prison. A controversial idea.

Forthcoming Events

Read about forthcoming seminars and conferences in Wellington, Canberra, Sydney and Dublin.

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ENDS

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