New Zealand: Drug law reform needed to end Māori over-incarceration, says NZ Drug Foundation

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New Zealand: Drug law reform needed to end Māori over-incarceration, says NZ Drug Foundation

11 April 2017

The Drug Foundation has backed the claim by former Corrections officer Tom Hemopo, and welcomes the Tribunal’s findings that the Crown has breached its Treaty of Waitangi obligations by failing to address the high rates of Māori reoffending and reimprisonment.

The Tribunal’s report condemned the “grossly disproportionate, decades-long, and increasing Māori overrepresentation in the nation’s prisons”, which it said was a “devastating situation for Māori, and for the nation”.

“Our criminal justice system has been failing Māori for decades and we’re not seeing any sign of improvement despite reports over decades highlighting these failures,” said Ross Bell, Drug Foundation Executive Director.

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Thumbnail: Flickr CC Broddi Sigurðarson