Funds approved for community sentences

Press, 17 June 1986, Page 8

Funds approved for community sentences

PA Wellington Almost $2.7 million has been approved for programmes related to the new community-based sentences, said the Minister of Justice, Mr Palmer, last evening. This would be as well as other Justice Department grants to community organisations, which would exceed $2 million. One of the guidelines of the new Criminal Justice Act was that the criminal justice system should take advantage of existing community strengths and organisations.

Mr Palmer said $480,000 would go to residential programmes intended to reduce the likelihood of reoffending, $240,000 would be allocated to day programmes, and $280,000 had been set aside for additional grants to community organisations.

All these grants would be funded by savings gained through a gradual transfer from institutional to community-based spending, for substantial long-term savings on institutional spending. The residential-pro-grammes grant was for new proposals to house those sentenced to community care or released on parole by district prison boards. These proposals would be evaluated after 12 months, and might then get continued support from the Social Welfare Department’s socialrehabilitation subsidy scheme.

Mr Palmer said the day programmes would enable early release prisoners, Or those subject to various court orders, to attend social, cultural and workskills training programmes.

Other grants announced

by Mr Palmer were $910,000 for the Prisoners’ Aid and Rehabilitation Society, almost double last year’s amount, a basic $250,000 for the Maatua Whangai scheme, and $500,000 extra to support the placement of young people in the community under the scheme.

In response to the new act, P.A.R.S. had already extended its work into areas where there were no penal institutions. On the Maatua Whangai scheme, Mr Palmer said the objective was to take Maori people out of Government institutions and place them in the care of the whanau (family) and hapu (extended family). The new organisation of the scheme would also enable the tribal roopu (network) to make preventive placements where need was evident and before court action was initiated.