Criminal Justice

Indicators
Introduction
1. Victimisation
2. Youth offending
3. Adult offending
4. Discussion
Data sources
References

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Indicators

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Introduction

In general, women's offending has not been examined in New Zealand to the same degree as that of men. The considerably lower volume and lower profile of women's offending patterns go some way toward explaining the relative lack of attention in the literature. One result of this lack of focus is that the justice system has not yet developed a specialised response to female offending. (Lashlie and Pivac (2000).)

Official statistics on women as offenders are available, but there is less background information about the impact of the criminal justice system on women's lives as both victims and offenders, compared with information relating to men. There is also very little other information, apart from official statistics, on Māori women's offending and victimisation (In relation to the term victim, some Māori women have expressed a dislike of this terminology. However, the term is accepted within the criminal justice system as describing those who have been harmed by the commission of crime.) . Where published data on women's victimisation and offending does exist, often this is not disaggregated by ethnicity, with the result that there are some information gaps relating to Māori women in this section of the report.

This chapter discusses what the data reveals for each of the six indicators. Where possible, the information revealed by the indicators has been supplemented by research from other studies.

The indicator measures of adult prosecution rates, adult conviction rates and adult sentencing rates have been age standardised. According to Ministry of Justice data, in 1999, 47% of those convicted were between 15 and 24 years of age.

Most of the indicators presented in this chapter relate to cases rather than individuals. In order to calculate rates, it has been assumed that cases are a proxy for individuals. However, it is not possible to check the validity of this assumption. It may be for example, that a few individuals are responsible for the majority of crime. For these reasons, the indicator information presented in this chapter should be regarded as indicative only.

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1. Victimisation

The Victims of Offences Act 1987 defines victims as people who have suffered physical or emotional harm as a result of a crime or who have lost or had damage done to their property. Women overall are more likely to suffer victimisation than to commit offences.

The Ministry of Justice collates comprehensive data collected by justice sector agencies relating to the prosecution, conviction and sentencing of offenders. However, New Zealand Police do not collect sex or ethnicity data relating to the victims of reported offences. This imbalance in the available data therefore severely limits our ability to understand and describe disparities in the justice system. For a range of reasons, not all incidences of victimisation are reported. The nature and extent of unreported cases is also unknown. There is very little information available around the issues relating to Māori women as victims of criminal offences.

The 1996 New Zealand National Survey of Crime Victims (the Victimisation Survey) measured the extent to which New Zealanders were affected by crime, regardless of whether the offence had been reported to Police. The survey provided information by ethnicity and by sex, but not both collated together. Because this survey had a low response rate, its findings need to be interpreted with caution.

The Ministry of Justice will carry out a second Victimisation Survey and report on this by the end of 2002. The Ministry anticipates that this follow-up survey will provide some comparative rates of victimisation in relation to Māori and non-Māori women and men.

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1.1 Application for protection orders
The only indicator of victimisation for which official data is currently available by both ethnicity and sex is confined to the area of family violence. This data relates to applications for protection orders under the Domestic Violence Act 1995. The data in this section relate to cases rather than to individuals. Applicants may apply for more than one order in any year. Furthermore, willingness to apply may differ by ethnic group. For these reasons, the indicator information presented in this section should be regarded as indicative only. A protection order issued under the Domestic Violence Act 1995 is intended to provide protection for victims of family violence. Protection orders are civil orders, and are not part of the criminal justice system unless they are breached.

Position of Māori women: In 1999/2000 the rate of application for protection orders by Māori women was 7.1 per 1,000 population aged 15+. Māori women made up 25.9% of applicants for protection orders during this period.

Table F1. Numbers and rates per 1,000 of applications for protection orders under the Domestic Violence Act 1995, for the years 1999/00

Source: Department for Courts and Statistics New Zealand.

As Table F1 shows, applications for protection orders were nearly three times more likely to come from Maori women than non-Maori women in 1999/2000. Department for Courts data on applicants for and respondents to protection orders (the perpetrators of violence), in the year to June 2000, indicates that:

• The rate of application for protection orders was 7.1 per 1,000 for Maori women compared with 2.6 per 1,000 for non-Maori women.
• Māori women were applicants for 25.9% of the total protection orders issued, compared with 66.2% for non-Māori women. Men were applicants for 7.9% of the orders.
• 16.8% of all respondents were Māori men, and non-Māori men were 47.9%, 12.0% of all respondents were Māori women and 23.3% were non-Māori women, (Note thatrespondents may have more than one protection order taken out against them in any one year.)

The rate of application for protection orders has changed slightly since 1996, as Figure F1 shows. In 1996 the Domestic Violence Act 1995 was introduced, and this was accompanied by a publicity campaign to encourage use. Bedding in of the Act is the likely explanation for the dip in 1999/2000.

Figure F1. Applications by women for protection orders under the Domestic Violence Act 1995, per 1,000 population, 1996-2000

Source: Department for Courts Family Court Database and Domestic Violence Database.

Use of the Domestic Violence Act 1995 was evaluated recently (Barwick et al (2000).) . The evaluation found that even though a higher proportion of Māori than non-Māori women are applying for and being issued protection orders under the Act, there may be some under-use by Māori. Suggested reasons for this included:

• shame or reluctance
• lack of faith in the effectiveness of the process
• lack of confidence in using the process
• cultural pressure not to use the system
• family pressure to withdraw proceedings
• cultural acceptance of violence and male domination
• a tendency to wait until violence becomes more extreme before applying. (It should be noted that these conclusions were sourced from a small number of key informants, such as lawyers and court staff, who were asked to speculate about the reasons for Māori under-utilisation of protection orders under the Domestic Violence Act 1995.)
  

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Abuse by partners

The Victimisation Survey found that within each ethnic group, the prevalence rates for partner abuse are higher for women than for men and are very much higher for Maori women than for NZ European/European and Pacific Island women. (Young et al (1997), p.45.)

The Women's Safety Survey, (Morris (1997).) which was derived from a pool of women who had already participated in the Victimisation Survey, also provided some information about the victimisation of Māori women in terms of domestic violence. The sample of women was restricted to those who were currently living with a male partner or who had been living with a male partner within the last two years, but who were no longer doing so. These women were invited to become part of a pool from which the sample for the survey was then selected. To ensure sufficient participation of Māori women, all Māori women eligible for inclusion in the survey were invited to participate. Non-Māori women were selected at random from the sample pool. In all, 500 women were interviewed: 351 non-Māori and 149 Māori women.

Results from the Women's Safety Survey should be treated as indicative only due to a low response rate in the parent Victimisation Survey, small numbers in the Safety Survey, the way in which the sample was drawn, and possible ethnic differences in willingness to disclose partner abuse. The survey found that Māori women were over-represented among victims of abuse by partners. Over a quarter (28%) of the 126 Māori women with current partners in the survey reported experiencing at least one act of physical or sexual abuse in the past 12 months, compared with 10% of the non-Māori women.

The Māori women in the survey were also more likely than the non-Māori women to report that they had experienced:

• incidents of controlling behaviour by their partners.
• a violent act in their relationship
• repeat victimisation, in the form of abuse, from a partner
• 10 or more types of violence
• the need to seek medical or hospital treatment as a result of partner violence.
• The Māori women were also more likely than the non-Māori women to hold fears that their partner might attempt to kill them. More of the Māori than the non-Māori women had previously left and returned to a violent partner.

In addition to the well-documented effects of violence on women's well-being, family violence can also affect women's ability to find and retain paid employment. (Pouwhare (1999). For more discussion on this point, see Employment .) The Women's Safety Survey reported that over a third of the 25 Māori women with recent partners in the survey were prevented by partners from being employed outside the home, as were a quarter of the non-Māori women. Of the 126 Māori women with current partners, 11 reported that their partners prevented them from being employed outside the home.

A study by the Public Health Commission (Public Health Commission (1994).) found that Māori women aged 15-24 years were seven times more likely than non-Māori women to be hospitalised as the result of an assault. Police statistics on total recorded offender apprehensions for family violence for 1998 show that Māori men comprised 46% of apprehensions for assault by males on females; 37% of apprehensions under the Common Assault (Domestic) Crimes Act; 37% of those under the Common Assault (Domestic) Summary Offences Act; and 34% of those under the Domestic Violence Act 1995. (It is acknowledged that not all of the victims of these offences would have been Māori women; but conversely, Māori women would have been among the victims of non-Māori men. (Te Puni Kōkiri June 2000). There is no comprehensive information available on these points.)

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Use of refuge services

Use of women's refuge services provides another indication of victimisation. Compared with non-Māori women, Māori women and their children are heavy users of women's refuge services. Statistics from the National Collective of Independent Women's Refuges (NCIWR) (NCIWR is the main provider of emergency safe house accommodation, support, advice, education and counselling services for women in abusive relationships and their children.) demonstrate that use by Māori women and their children of NCIWR services has remained relatively high over the last few years (Table F2).

Table F2. Use by Māori women and their children of NCIWR services, 1996-2000

Source: NCIWR data

Of the 51 safe houses affiliated to the collective and providing emergency shelter for women and their children, twelve cater specifically for Māori. In addition, NCIWR estimates that there are 20 other providers of refuge services not affiliated to the national collective. It is not known how many of these are general and how many are Māori refuges.

During the 1999/2000 year, the average length of stay for Māori women in one of the Māori safe houses was 19 days. In recent years this average length has varied between 19 and 25 days. The average length of stay in general safe houses (serving both Māori and non-Māori clients) in 1999/2000 was 11 days. This figure has remained relatively stable in recent years.

Although research has not been carried out as to the underlying reasons for the disparity between the average lengths of stay in Māori refuges and general refuges, NCIWR believe that Māori women tend to stay for longer periods for reasons such as poverty and lack of other options. Given that the Women's Safety Survey has indicated that Māori women tend to suffer more severe violence, there may be an increased need for Māori women to seek extended periods of respite for themselves and their children.

2. Youth offending

Police apprehension and prosecution data relate to numbers of offences rather than to number of individuals apprehended or prosecuted. It may be that a small number of people are responsible for a large number of offences. For this reason, the indicator information presented in this section should be regarded as indicative only.

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2.1 Police apprehensions of those aged 10-16 years

(Ministry of Justice figures show that offending in the under 10 years age group accounts for around 3-4% of youth offending. Therefore, these youth rates have been deemed to apply to 10-16 year olds.)
Position of Māori women: In 1998 the rate of apprehension for young Māori women was 10.9 per 100 population aged 10-16 years.

Table F3. Numbers and rates of police apprehensions of those aged 10-16 years, 1998

Source: NZ Police and Statistics NZ

As Table F3 shows, the rate of apprehension for young Māori women is well over three times thefor non-Māori women, and is similar to the rate for young non-Māori men. In 1998, youngwomen accounted for 51.8% of female apprehensions. The rate of apprehension for youngmen is around three times that for young Māori women.

Over the period 1994-1998, the rate of apprehension for all groups aged 16 or under remained reasonably stable (Figure F2).

Figure F2. Police apprehensions of those aged 10-16 years, per 100 population, 1994-1998

Source: NZ Police and Statistics New Zealand

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2.2 Prosecutions of those aged 10-16 years

Prosecutions are criminal charges, processed by the courts. Prosecutions exclude infringements and matters dealt with outside formal court proceedings, for example, cautions or warnings by the Police, or Family Group Conferences.

Position of Māori women: In 1999, the rate of prosecution for young Māori women was 25.4 per 1,000 population aged 10-16 years.

Table F4. Numbers and rates of prosecutions for young people aged 10-16 (except traffic offences), 1995 and 1999

Source: Ministry of Justice and Statistics New Zealand

The large disparities in apprehension rates between young Māori and their non-Māori counterparts continue for prosecution rates (Table F4). In 1999, the rate for young Māori women (25.4 per 1,000) was six times the rate for young non-Māori women (4.2). The rate for young Māori men (127.0) was over four times the rate for young non-Māori men (29.7). Comparing women with men in each group, the Māori male rate was five times the Māori female rate, and the non-Māori male rate was seven times the non- Māori female rate.

In 1999, 63.8% of all females prosecuted in the 10-16 age group were Māori but Māori females make up 22.7% of the 10-16 age group. In this age group, 55.1% of all males prosecuted were Māori although Māori males make up 22.3% of this age group.

As Table F4 shows, between 1995 and 1999, young non-Māori men had the largest increase in prosecution rates, followed by young Māori women then young Māori men. There was little change for young non-Māori women.

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3. Adult offending

Prosecution, conviction and sentencing indicators provide a proxy measure for the extent of crime and the involvement of Māori women in the criminal justice system. Prosecutions are criminal charges processed by the courts. A conviction is an outcome of a prosecution where the person was convicted of the offence. Finally, those who are convicted receive a sentence. A wide range of sentences are possible including custodial, community based sentences, and monetary penalties. Data for these indicators comes from the Ministry of Justice and the New Zealand Police. As with the previous section it should be noted that prosecution, conviction and sentencing information relates to cases not individuals. Therefore, the indicator information presented here should be treated as indicative only.

In the criminal justice system, the differentiation between young offenders and adult offenders is not entirely clear-cut. An offender aged 15 and over can be convicted in the Youth Court, then sent to the District Court for sentencing. This means that young offenders are included in the adult conviction and sentencing data. For this reason, the Ministry of Justice calculates rates for the population aged 15+. (For more information, see Lash (1998), Census of Prison Inmates: 1997.)

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3.1 Prosecutions

Position of Māori women: In 1999, the rate of prosecution for Māori women was 6.2 per 100 population aged 15 and over, and 8.7% of all prosecutions were of Māori women.

Table F5. Numbers and rates of prosecutions (except for traffic offences), aged 15+, 1995 and 1999

Source: Ministry of Justice and Statistics NZ, non-age standardised numbers and age standardised rates.

In 1999, the highest rate of prosecution was for Māori men (25.7%). The rate of prosecution for Māori women, on the other hand, was similar to that for non-Māori men (6.2% and 7.2% respectively). The rate of prosecution for non-Māori women was lowest at 1.1%. For all four groups, the rate of prosecution has changed little between 1995 and 1999.

Both Māori women and Māori men are over-represented in prosecution statistics. In 1999, 51.4% of all women prosecuted were Māori although they comprised 12.7% of the female adult population, and 41.4% of all men prosecuted were Māori although they comprised 12.6% of the male adult population.

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3.2 Convictions

Position of Māori women: In 1999, the rate of conviction for Māori women was 18.1 per 1,000 population aged 15 and over, and 8.4% of all convictions were of Māori women.

Table F6. Numbers and rates for convictions (except for traffic offences), aged 15+, 1995 and 1999

Source: Ministry of Justice and Statistics NZ, non-age standardised numbers and age standardised rates

In 1999, the highest rate of conviction was for Māori men - 79.3 per 1,000 population. The rate for Māori women (18.1) was similar to that for non-Māori men (21.5). Non-Māori women had the lowest rate, at 2.9 per 1,000. In the four years between 1995 and 1999 the rates have changed little. In 1999 54.4% of all women convicted were Māori (Māori women made up 12.7% of the female adult population in 1999), and 41.8% of all men convicted were Māori (Māori men made up 12.6% of the adult male population in 1999). Data suggest that property offences were the most common reason for Māori women being convicted, accounting for almost half (48.1%) of Māori women's offending. For Māori men, property offences accounted for 33.2% of all offending, with violent offending accounting for a further 22.3%.

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3.3 Sentencing

Position of Māori women: In 1999, 6.2% of all Māori women convicted were given a custodial sentence. Māori women accounted for 4.3% of all those sentenced to imprisonment.

Table F7. Type of sentence as a proportion of those convicted, 1999

Source: Ministry of Justice and Statistics NZ

Although the most common form of sentence is a monetary penalty, custodial sentences are used for more serious offences. As Table F7 shows, men are more likely to receive a custodial sentence than women, and Māori women are more likely to receive a custodial sentence than non-Māori women. In 1999, 6.2% of Māori women convicted received a custodial sentence, compared with 16.7% for Māori men, 11.0% for non-Māori men, and 4.3% for non-Māori women.

Since 1995, Māori have made up over half the prison population. In 1999, Māori women comprised 62.8% of the total numbers of sentenced women imprisoned. The comparable percentage for Māori men was 52.2%.

The 1999 Census of Prison Inmates (Rich (2000).) revealed that 75% of sentenced female inmates had sole care of at least one child before entering prison. This Census did not indicate the numbers of affected female inmates who were Māori. Given the high proportion of Māori woman inmates out of the total number of female inmates, it is likely that a high number of these parents and caregivers were Māori women.

4. Discussion

4.1 Victimisation

Because of the lack of reliable information on victimisation, it is difficult to assess the reasons for the disparity between Māori and non-Māori women and for the interrelationship between victimisation, offending, and repeat offending.

Māori women and men have also had to contend with a much higher and more protracted rate of socio-economic disadvantage than non-Māori have experienced. The impact of historical factors such as colonisation and the consequent loss of an economic base, urbanisation and its effect on Māorisocial structures also need consideration. Further information is needed on how these factors affect the victimisation experienced by Māori women.

Despite indications of high levels of victimisation in relation to partner abuse, Māori women do not access services for victims at the rate that might be expected. The main reason for this appears to be lack of awareness of services and discomfort for Māori in dealing with mainstream victim service organisations. (See Cram et al. (1999).)

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4.2 Offending

Prosecutions and convictions

Māori women are apprehended, prosecuted and convicted at much higher rates than non-Māori women. Similarly, Maori men are apprehended, prosecuted and convicted at much higher rates than non-Maori men. This disparity then appears to flow over into prosecution and conviction rates. The reasons for higher Māori rates may include:

Differing use of police discretion as to whether to prosecute.
The higher visibility of Maori, especially in areas of proportionately lower Maori population.
Differing length and content of previous offending histories. Māori offenders tend to begin offending at a younger age than non-Māori. Their offending histories may be longer and more serious.
Differing access to legal knowledge or assistance. Māori charged with an offence (or their lawyers) may be less successful, or less likely to try, influencing the police decision to prosecute. Māori tend to have less access to private lawyers and to depend more on Legal Aid and Duty Solicitors. However, an evaluation of criminal legal aid (Saville-Smith et al. (1995).) found that proportionately fewer Māori applied for Legal Aid at their own instigation. They were more likely than non-Māori to need to be advised to do so by duty solicitors and judges. The evaluation also found that more Māori offenders faced higher numbers of charges in relation to their application for legal aid. This had a flow-on effect in relation to the severity of the sentence imposed.

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4.3 Sentencing

Overall, a higher proportion of cases involving Māori offenders, compared with non-Māori offenders, result in a prison sentence. However, a smaller proportion of proved cases with a female defendant (3%) than a male defendant (10%) result in a prison sentence.

The proportion of monetary penalties imposed on Maori in 1999 were lower than those imposed on European offenders (50% versus 34% respectively) (Spier (2000), p.69.) . Ministry of Justice data also highlights a lower use of monetary penalties for Maori offenders generally in comparison with European offenders. This may be due to socio-economic circumstances and a belief by the judiciary in the appropriateness of a community sentence. (Spier (2000), p.150)

According to Spier, (Spier (2000)) over three quarters (77%) of the cases resulting in a community programme in 1999 involved Māori offenders. For the other community based sentences, the proportions involving Māori offenders were periodic detention (49%), community service (45%) and supervision (44%). Although community programme sentences are not widely used, Māori and Pacific Island offenders were twice as likely to get this sentence as Pakeha once the effects of other factors were taken into (Triggs (1997), p.124) account.

Māori generally have higher rates of re-offending. A more lengthy previous record tends to influence the severity of future sentences. Because of the high volume of male offending, less attention has been devoted to developing a range of rehabilitative interventions for female offenders generally, and for Māori female offenders in particular.

Another reason for the high levels of imprisonment imposed on Māori is that they may be less able or less likely to plead personal mitigating factors which could lessen the severity of the sentenceimposed. Mitigating factors include such things as a previous good record, and possible consequences for the offender of the proposed sentence, i.e. in relation to employment.

Lawyers also may be less successful in pursuing exercise of discretionary police diversion for some Māori women offenders. A recent study of the use of Section 16 of the Criminal Justice Act 1985 (Chetwin et al. (2000), p.68) indicated that this section is underused by Māori in the sentencing process. Section 16 allows an offender to have cultural factors relevant to the offending presented to the presiding Judge. The study found that in some cases where these factors were presented to the Court, a lesser sentence was imposed where a custodial one may otherwise have been expected. There is potential here for Māori to make greater use of this provision. The study found, however, that lawyers, judges and probation officers needed to be more proactive in raising awareness of Section 16.

The Department of Corrections is beginning to address the needs of female inmates under its Integrated Offender Management system, by development of a gender appropriate assessment tool. At this time, however, the Department has no specific plans to develop a specific strategy to address the needs of the Māori women inmates it houses, although these women constitute a large proportion of female inmates.

Lashlie and Pivac (Lashlie and Pivac (2000)) have noted that the majority of women sentenced to imprisonment arrive having already experienced multiple social problems, often with long histories of sexual and physical abuse, with associated mental and physical health issues, and with prolonged histories of drug and alcohol problems. A 1999 evaluation of the pilot alcohol and drug treatment unit at Arohata Women's Prison (Whitney (1992) as cited in Page (1999)) 21 cites some research into the treatment needs of male and female inmates which found there was evidence that more Māori women inmates were likely to have substance abuse and alcohol problems than were the European women in the study.

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4.4 Youth offending

Children and young people (aged 16 or under) who offend are dealt with under the Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act 1989. Many young offenders will have their offending dealt with at family group conferences rather than by a court appearance.

There is a lack of information on offending by young women generally and by young Māori women in particular. This may be because the relatively low volume of young women's offending means that it has been regarded as a lesser priority for research. There is a corresponding lack of suitable interventions specifically designed to respond to young Māori women's offending.

Youth offending is significant because for many, it is the formal entry point to the criminal justice system. If justice system responses are not effective and well targeted, youth offending and reoffending may impact negatively on other areas of a young person's life, such as education and employment.

A recent Te Puni Kōkiri report (Te Puni Kōkiri (2000a).) found that trends in offending patterns are similar for young Māori males and females, with both groups over-represented in offending statistics. The report also noted that there was a substantial increase in the numbers of Māori females aged 17-19 years sentenced to imprisonment between 1996 and 1998. The reasons for this are not clear, but there has been an increase in numbers of apprehensions of young Māori women for violent offences.

International and New Zealand literature on youth offending has demonstrated the link between experience of social and economic disadvantage, and prevalence of offending and anti-social behaviour. The risk factors (Singh and White (2000).) that contribute to youth offending include:

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Child factors

• prematurity, low birth weight, disability, prenatal brain damage and birth injury, low intelligence, difficult temperament, chronic illness, insecure attachment and poor problem solving
• beliefs about aggression, poor social skills, low self esteem, lack of empathy and alienation, hyperactivity, impulsivity, disruptive behaviour

Family factors

• young and single parent families, family violence and discord, large family size and absence of father
• psychiatric problems and substance abuse, criminal and antisocial models
• disorganisation and isolation, long term unemployment
• poor parental supervision, harsh and inconsistent discipline, lack of warmth, affection and involvement by parents and abuse and neglect
  

School factors

• school failure and poor attachment to school, lack of education/skills and truancy, peer rejection, bullying and poor behaviour management

Life factors

• family instability due to separation, death, lack of job opportunities, and substance abuse
  

Social/cultural factors

• socio-economic disadvantage and poor housing conditions, neighbourhood crime and population density
• cultural norms favouring criminal behaviour, lack of support services, alienation from culture and institutionalised racism
• vulnerability to peer group pressure, lack of adequate physical and mental health care
  

The above factors are based on general populations, rather than indigenous and ethnic minority youth. Commentators disagree as to whether the risk factors associated with offending are the same for youth from indigenous/ethnic minorities and youth from other groups. Some writers argue that indigenous and ethnic minority youth have special characteristics which need to be considered when examining what influences youth offending. (Singh and White (2000).) There may also be different risk factors for males and females. A Ministry of Youth Affairs report found that the only risk factors specific to young women were abuse as a child, running away from home, and becoming a single mother. ( McLaren (2000).)

Other factors (Ministry of Justice and Te Puni Kōkiri (1998).) that Māori have identified which may contribute to high rates of youth offending by Māori relate to the criminal justice system itself. These factors are also applicable to adult offending. They include:

• Police concentration on particular types of offending or groups of offenders, making that offence or group more likely to be officially recorded.
• Historically poor relationships between Police and Māori. (It is acknowledged that the New Zealand Police now have a Responsiveness to Māori Strategy in place)
• High rates of re-offending, due to the lack of any effective response to first offending, including lack of culturally appropriate interventions.
• Failure of the family group conference system to address causes of offending and resource effective interventions in some cases.
• High visibility of Māori youth, their tendency to seek each other out and congregate in public places, and their propensity for attracting official attention.
• Lack of preventive services for young Māori at risk of offending
• Poor quality legal advice, lack of access to legal information and inability to meet the cost of legal advice. (Whilst those appearing in the Youth Court have access to specially trained youth advocates, young people appearing in the District or High Courts must access other legal representation.)
• The lack of meaning for Māori of the criminal justice system and the way in which it operates
• Failure to accommodate Māori customs and values in justice system interactions
• A lack of positive involvement by Māori in the criminal justice system as lawyers, court staff, etc.

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Given the comparative youthfulness of the Māori population and the prevalence of disadvantage among Māori whānau, it is likely that unless appropriate interventions are available to young offenders, the significant over-representation of Māori among youth offenders will continue. This trend is likely to continue to affect rates of offending for young Māori women.

Justice sector agencies are taking steps to address the institutional and overt racism that has been acknowledged to exist within the justice system. However, Māori women who participated in the Women's Access to Justice project were strongly of the belief that such racism was still widespread and that it impacted negatively on the likelihood of Māori women receiving equal access to justice. (Law Commission (1999).)

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Data sources

The Ministry of Justice's case monitoring database and the Police database supplied all data except for protection orders, which were provided by the Department for Courts Family Court database. This data contained significant omissions for both ethnicity and sex. In addition, the Department for Courts had difficulty in extracting the information. Due to these difficulties, the data should be treated as indicative only.

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References

Barwick, H., Gray, A. & Macky, R. (2000). Domestic Violence Act 1995: Process Evaluation. Wellington: Ministry of Justice and Department for Courts.

Chetwin, A., Waldegave, T. & Simonsen, K. (2000). Speaking About Cultural Background at Sentencing. Wellington: Ministry of Justice.

Cram, F., Pihama, L. & Karehana, M. (1999). Meeting the Needs of Māori Victims of Crime. Auckland: International Research Institute for Māori and Indigenous Education, University of Auckland.

Hema, L. (2000). Risk and Strength Factors for Children and Young People who Offend or Re-offend: A Summary of the Literature. Wellington: CFYS.

Lash, B. (1998). Census of Prison Inmates: 1997 . Wellington: Ministry of Justice

Lashlie, C. & Pivac, K. (2000). He Kete Pokai: Suitcase of Hope? : A Working Document on the Management of Women in Prison in New Zealand. Unpublished.

Law Commission (1999). Justice: The Experiences of Māori Women. Wellington: Law Commission.

McLaren, K. (2000) Tough is Not Enough - Getting Smart About Youth Crime. Ministry of Youth Affairs: Wellington

Ministry of Justice/Te Puni Kōkiri (1998). Perspectives on Responding to the Over-Representation of Māori in the Criminal Justice System : the Views of Māori Stakeholders. Wellington: Ministry of Justice/Te Puni Kōkiri.

Morris, A. (1997). Women's Safety Survey 1996. Wellington: Victimisation Survey Committee.

National Coalition of Independent Women's Refuges (2000). Improving Outcomes for Women and Children Using Refuge Services. Wellington: NCIWR.

Page C (1999) An Evaluation of the Pilot (NSAD) Alcohol and Drug Treatment Unit at Arohata Women's Prison : a Report Commissioned by the Department of Corrections. Unpublished.

Pouwhare T. (1999). Māori Women and Work: The Effects of Family Violence on Māori Women's Employment Opportunities. Wellington: NCIWR.

Public Health Commission (1994). Our Health - Our Future. Hauora Pakari, Koiora Roa. The State of

Public Health in New Zealand. Wellington: Public Health Commission.

Rich, M. (2000). Census of Prison Inmates 1999. Wellington: Department of Corrections.

Saville-Smith, K., Allan, G., Newbold, G., Calkin, B., Parata, N., French, L., Young, D. & McCombs, B. (1995). In the Interests of Justice: An Evaluation of Criminal Legal Aid in New Zealand. Wellington: Legal Services Board.

Singh, D. & White, C. (2000). Rapua te Huarahi Tika Searching for Solutions. Wellington: Ministry of Youth Affairs.

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