Mike Williams: Helping prisoners escape a life of crime

Mike Williams

I HAD the good fortune to address a meeting convened by Ray Smith, the dynamic CEO of the Corrections Department earlier in the week. Ray has focused his many thousands of Corrections workers on one central goal for the department that we should all heartily support as Kiwi taxpayers.
This goal is to reduce reoffending by 25 per cent over five years and a brief glance at international statistics explains why this objective is achievable and important to the country.
New Zealand has one of the worse incarceration rates in the Western world.
We are currently imprisoning 183 people per 100,000 of our population. This compares with rates of 133 in Australia, 118 in Canada, 78 in Germany and 58 in Finland.
When retired businessman Tony Gibbs got me involved in the New Zealand Howard League, I was fascinated by these numbers, especially the 30 per cent difference between Australia, a country I know well, and New Zealand.
If we could get to an incarceration rate equal to Australia that would mean roughly 3000 fewer prisoners in New Zealand.
Given that each prisoner is now costing us $100,000 per year, the saving to taxpayers would be $300 million.
This could go a long way towards Hawke's Bay's university.
Some basic research showed that the difference in numbers was not due to New Zealand having longer prison sentences or a wider range of offences that attracted a prison sentence than Australia.
It was purely driven by New Zealand's much higher rate of reoffending.
Put quite simply, New Zealand prisoners on release have a considerably higher chance of returning to jail than Australian prisoners.
This is why former Corrections Minister Anne Tolley and chief executive Ray Smith have targeted reducing reoffending as the best way of reducing New Zealand's prison population. Before the Sensible Sentencing Trust jumps in and talks about the undoubted rights of victims, it should be emphasised, as Ray always does, that fewer crimes means fewer victims of crime.
To wind up the Corrections conference, Ray had invited three guest speakers. The Wellington super chef, Martin Bosley, the fashion designer and label owner, Annah Stretton, and myself representing the New Zealand Howard League.
Ray's objective in inviting this trio was to underline the need for the community in general to take some responsibility for the problem of the unnecessarily high rate of imprisonment in New Zealand.
Martin spoke movingly about his experience at Rimutaka jail in the Hutt Valley, where he has twice trained and guided a group of nearly 20 prisoners in high-end cuisine.
The objective was for the men to prepare a meal as part of the annual Wellington on a Plate food festival. Martin at first refused to take on the task but, when he realised that all but a tiny handful of prisoners are released back into our community at some point, he decided that it would be worthwhile trying to impart the skills that might help the inmate group to find work on release. He now has two released prisoners in his employ and reported that many of the men had developed a passion for the industry.
Annah Stretton was an inspiration. Using her own funds, she's started an organisation called RAW, an acronym for "Rescue a Woman".
RAW organises mentoring for young women with a history of abuse and/or crime. The mentors offer one-on-one guidance and support for these young women to improve their lives via education. Annah had brought one such young person, Renee, along with her.
Renee's life had included abuse, jail terms and deportation. She spoke confidently about the turn around that she was managing with the support and sustenance of Annah's brainchild. She's completed a course of foundation studies to learn the basics for further study and plans tertiary training, with the objective of working in the growing fitness industry. Her determination was palpable and I'm certain that Renee will achieve her ambition. Another woman rescued.
I spoke about the drivers of imprisonment focusing on the sad fact that well over half of New Zealand prisoners are functionally illiterate.
If you are reading this column then you are obviously literate, but just imagine how the inability to read and write might affect your life and prospects.
You would not hold a driver's licence, and, therefore, you'd be unlikely to have a bank account or be able to get any other than the most menial job.
The New Zealand Howard League's prisoner literacy initiative is another example of community ownership of our incarceration problem and Hawke's Bay can take pride in the fact that it started here.
Volunteer tutors at many jails are now giving inmates that most basic human skill and I was proud to be in the company of Martin and Annah.
If you can help, just email me mikew@ihug.co.nz.
#Mike Williams grew up in Hawke's Bay. He is chief executive officer of the NZ Howard League. .