PUBLICITY RELEASE

Wednesday April 3, 2013

Restorative Justice Examined in Maori Television Documentary

Could you ever forgive a person who brutally attacked you or your partner, brother or mother? What about someone who ran over and killed your child?

This idea is explored in RESTORING HOPE: AN INDIGENOUS RESPONSE TO JUSTICE, a powerful new documentary to screen on Maori Television on Sunday, April 14 at 8.30pm.

Inspiring and thought-provoking, the documentary follows five emotional and often polarising criminal cases to examine the Restorative Justice model practised by facilitator Mike Hinton at Nga Whare Waatea Marae in Manukau.

Restorative justice brings victims, offenders and their whanau together to sit down and discuss the crime committed and the effect it has had on everyone involved.

Offenders are given the opportunity to express remorse, pay any reparation, apologise, or offer alternative compensation for the pain they’ve caused, and families of victims and offenders have the chance to talk about the hurt they have suffered from the crime.

RESTORING HOPE: AN INDIGENOUS RESPONSE TO JUSTICE follows Mike, the Manukau Urban Maori Authority restorative justice facilitator, in his work with victims, offenders and their whanau and goes inside the conferences in which they come face-to-face.

From grievous bodily harm to aggravated robbery to a heart-breaking fatal hit-and-run, RESTORING HOPE: AN INDIGENOUS RESPONSE TO JUSTICE provides an exclusive opportunity to witness the restorative justice process as it happens.

Producer Julia Parnell, of Auckland-based Notable Pictures, says viewers are exposed to real situations in their communities.

“We want to encourage people to look beyond what is on the surface and reconsider their first impressions or preconceived ideas about crime and punishment.”

With our prisons full to overflowing and rates of reoffending more than 50 per cent within two years, could restorative justice be the answer to stemming the tide of Maori recidivism? Or does it offer criminals an opportunity for forgiveness they don’t deserve?

A commanding contribution to the punitive-v-non-punitive justice debate, RESTORING HOPE: AN INDIGENOUS RESPONSE TO JUSTICE challenges viewers to re-evaluate what ideas like community, humanity and compassion really mean.

RESTORING HOPE: AN INDIGENOUS RESPONSE TO JUSTICE premieres on Maori Television on April 14 at 8.30pm.

ENDS

TALENT PROFILE

Mike Hinton (Ngati Raukawa)

At the time of filming Mike Hinton was the manager of Restorative Justice at Manukau Urban Maori Authority (MUMA), the only restorative justice provider in South Auckland. As well as the Chairperson of Restorative Justice Aotearoa, the association representing the providers of restorative justice and restorative practices services in New Zealand. Since filming Mike has been appointed general manager of the association.

Having spent 20 years in the military, Mike became involved in restorative justice in 2004 working primarily out of Nga Whare Waatea Urban Marae in Mangere. Mike has an incredibly open approach to working with victims and offenders. He never pre-judges people based on their actions and strongly believes that a whanau and community-based approach to crime is the way forward within the criminal justice system.

© Scoop Media