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Tērā tētahi whakataukī e ki ana, "kimihia ngā pūtake katoa
o te kaupapa, inā kitea, kimihia ngā rongōa". Nā, kua
whakatakotoria e te ao Pākehā i roto anō i tōna ake
tirohanga whānui ki te ao, ngā pūtake e hara nei te tangata.
Heoi, kāore anō tēnei mea te tikanga kia whakaaroarohia
mō roto i ngā pūtake nei. Nā runga anō i te piki haere o
ngā āwangawanga ki te mahi hara a te iwi Māori, e tino
tika ana kia rapua ētahi atu o ngā pūtake mō tēnei raruraru.
Ko tā tēnei tuhinga, he whakatewhatewha i tētahi
kaupapa arotake hou e poipoia ana e tētahi Tari o te
Kāwanatanga. Kua whakahāngai te hanga o tēnei kaupapa
kia tohu i ngā pūtake e pā kaha ana ki te tikanga, tērā pea
ka āwhina i te mahi whakaora e hiahiatia ana e te hunga
hara Māori.

Contributing to safer communities through reducing reoffending
is a main objective of the Department of
Corrections. Key to this is the effective management of
programmes and services designed to address the
criminogenic needs of offenders. Research suggests that
structured instruments provide a more reliable and valid
assessment of these needs. Once identified through
assessment, offenders with specific needs can then be
matched to rehabilitation services.
The assessment instruments currently utilised by the
Department are based on models largely developed and
tested in overseas jurisdictions. While these tools may
be useful in terms of identifying generic criminogenic
needs, their utility when applied to the New Zealand
offender population remains somewhat in question. The
failure of these tools to take into account societal and
cultural differences is a major limitation and is therefore
likely to impact on the effectiveness of these mechanisms
for identifying the most appropriate means to rehabilitate
New Zealand offenders, particularly Māori offenders.
Despite this contention, little research exists by which to
explore these issues and provide evidence of specific
culture-related need.
This paper therefore focuses on the development and
identification of Māori culture-related needs (MaCRNs)
-cultural factors potentially related to offending. It does
not discuss the perceived inadequacies of the current
criminal justice system nor does it provide any detailed
analysis of the underlying causes of criminal behaviour
amongst Māori. Rather, the aim is to explore the utility
of integrating cultural factors within a new needs
assessment tool - the Criminogenic Needs Inventory
(CNI), designed by the Department to more accurately
identify those factors which pre-dispose offenders to
problem behaviour.