The Government will hold a conference on the causes of crime next month.
About a hundred people from non-government groups who deal with the prevention and results of crime have been invited to the day-long meeting.
The conference will be hosted by Justice Minister Simon Power and the Associate Minister of Corrections and Maori Party co-leader, Pita Sharples.
Mr Power says Maori are over-represented in crime statistics and anything to reduce Maori offending will have a positive impact on the overall crime rate.
He says the crime debate has been focused on dealing with offenders and it is time there was a discussion about prevention.
