More investment in kaupapa Maori prisoner rehabilitation programmes could reduce high rates of reoffending, an Auckland University of Technology lecturer says.
Senior social sciences lecturer Camille Nakhid studied Maori former inmates to look at why most Maori reoffend within two years of being released from jail.
She said reducing the reoffending of tangata whenua had to be done in a cultural way which made a difference for Maori, and that the former inmates felt the western programmes were not suited to them.
They also thought better communication with the outside world and keeping up with news would help them reintegrate into society.
The kaupapa Maori rehabilitation programme had been expanded nationwide, and Dr Nakhid said that was a step in the right direction.
