Hon Amy Adams
Minister of Justice
3 May 2016 Media statement

New approach to justice sector investment

Justice Minister Amy Adams has announced details of how the Government is planning to apply the Social Investment approach to the criminal justice system.

“Across the board, the Government is taking significant steps to better protect the vulnerable in our society. One of the best things we can do to support victims is to stop them from ever becoming one,” Ms Adams says.

“The Investment Approach to Justice is about Justice Sector agencies addressing the core issues to stop crime happening, reduce harm and prevent victims from being victimised in the first place.

“This is a new piece of work to ensure we give Justice Sector agencies information based on the incredible data picture we now have, to better plan, predict and invest. It will also enable them to better co-ordinate with areas like health, education, and social services to try and prevent today’s vulnerable young people ever becoming offenders of the future.”

An investment of $2 million of additional funding from the Justice Sector Fund will be injected into the work programme.

“The new approach will ensure organisations involved in crime prevention have access to high-quality data analytics and modelling, helping them to make better informed decisions about where to invest to make the biggest difference,” Ms Adams says.

“This approach will help authorities build a clearer picture of who is experiencing what crimes and where, patterns of offending behaviour, and how justice sector programmes and services could be modified for maximum impact.”

The modelling that supports the Investment Approach is made possible thanks to the assembly of information on the Integrated Data Infrastructure.

Ms Adams says early insights from the Investment Approach bring hard numbers to the long-held beliefs that some of our most prolific criminals started at a young age.

One study which investigated offending patterns of people born in New Zealand in 1978 revealed that 80 per cent of convictions went to those who first convicted before the age of 20.

“The study confirms that if we are going to more effectively prevent people from entering into a life of crime, we need to reach them as early as possible,” Ms Adams says.

More information on the Investment Approach to Justice will be made available atwww.justice.govt.nz/justice-sector

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