International Authority on Prisoner Reintegration visiting New Zealand

Prison Fellowship is sponsoring a visit by Dr Shadd Maruna, an international authority on prisoner reintegration.

“Dr Maruna is regarded as an outstanding scholar and criminologist” said Prison Fellowship National Director, Kim Workman. His primary interests involve theories of desistance from crime, public opinion regarding law breakers, and the implications of both on ex-offender reintegration. But he is also a practitioner, and has worked alongside prisoners for many years. His first book, Making Good: How Ex-Convicts Reform and Rebuild Their Lives was named the Outstanding Contribution to Criminology by the American Society of Criminology in 2001. He has been a Fullbright Scholar, and an H.F. Guggenheim Fellow.

While in New Zealand, Dr Maruna will participate in the Prison Fellowship’s Conference, “When the Prisoner Comes Home” to be held at the Silverstream Christian Retreat from 11 – 13 May, which examines the issue of prisoner reintegration.

“The safe and effective reintegration of prisoners into the community is set to become a major social issue within the next 3 – 5 years. Currently, around 8,500 prisoners are released every year. Of those around 7,500 were sentenced to less than two years, and not eligible for parole. A further 1600 will be on parole. Most will not have been on rehabilitative programs while in prison.

There is an emerging view that for most, the prison experience does very little to address offending behaviour. What is more likely to make a difference, is how well the prisoner is socialised back into their community – how they are held accountable, by whom, the contribution they can make, how they deal with stigmatisation and overcome barriers to community acceptance, and the level of support they can expect if they want to change. Both government and the community sector are considering how they can best work together to reduce victims in the community, hold ex-prisoners accountable for their conduct, and at the same time support those offenders who seek to contribute back to society.

“The Prison Fellowship Conference is the first public conference to specifically address prisoner reintegration. Reintegration policy is in its infancy in New Zealand, and there is a wide interest in the conference – from the judiciary, Maori organisations, parliamentarians, public servants, academics and ex-prisoners. Our goal is to explore a wide range of views and approaches to this issue, so that both the government and the community can more carefully consider their respective roles and responsibilities.”

ENDS

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