Government agencies are failing the children of Maori prisoners, leaving them traumatised and ill, and creating a new generation of offenders, a report says... "The agencies of health and education do not appear to have the capacity to resolve these problems. The result is that the society is condemned to continual increases in prison numbers, with many tamariki Maori set to populate those additional places."Yet again, another party is to blame for failing children. The people who fund, administrate and staff the agencies (most of us) are inadequate. It's our fault. More brainless buck-passing that 'victims' buy into.
Everything bar the kitchen sink can be thrown at these families without desired result...but it will still be "societies fault".
Incapacity in the system is only part of the problem. Male prisoners father more children than the general male population. Young Maori father more children. A study released in the NZ Social Policy Journal last year found respondents having a sole Māori cultural identity had odds of early pregnancy and parenthood that were over seven times higher than those of non-Māori...These results were evident for both males and females.
Do the maths. Even if some of the children can be prevented from living like their parents, the odds are the present parameters will increase.
Yes, doubtless we are doomed to build more prisons. But not because good people are failing.
4 comments:
What is your solution Lindsay?
Lindsay, we do throw the kitchen sink at these people! They respond by never wiping it clean. Someone else should do that, right?
Oh, but we have the Green paper as the big answer to it all. What a joke. Same old.
Kevin, I have just linked to an article I wrote which partially answers your question.
We will never eradicate the need for prisons but I do believe we could reduce our imprisonment rate significantly.
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