AWA: Academic Writing at Auckland

Introduction

The current New Zealand imprisonment rate is 199 people per 100,000. The rate for Maori is nearly 700 per 100,000.[1] Indigenous Maori constitute 15 per cent of the general population, yet Maori make up over 51 per cent of the prison population.[2] Evidence suggests that imprisonment rates have radically increased since 1984.[3] This paper addresses the economic, social and political changes that occurred during this period and suggests that these explain to a large extent why Maori are over-represented in prisons today.

This paper addresses three factors that explain the rise of Maori imprisonment. The first factor is the urbanisation of Maori—their migration from rural to urban areas.[4] The second factor is the neo-liberal economic and social changes that occurred during 1984-1985, which increased the Maori percentage of the prison population.[5] The third factor is the rise of the security state—this refers to how the state manages social insecurity.[6] This essay shows that the state response to Maori and minority groups who are disadvantaged is imprisonment—this is used to manage the social insecurity created by the neo-liberal economic changes that occurred in 1984.[7] Such social insecurity includes high unemployment[8] and the perceived increased threat that minority groups represent.[9]

Urbanisation

The urbanisation of Maori (from rural to urban areas) plays an important role in setting up the framework to explain the over-representation of Maori in prisons today. Imprisonment rates increased substantially in the wake of urbanisation and these were later exacerbated by the social and economic changes that occurred in 1984-1985.[10]  As John Pratt notes the average length of imprisonment increased by 75 per cent during this period.[11]

The urbanisation of Maori is described as a post-World War II phenomenon.[12] Before the war, over 80 per cent of Maori were living in rural areas.[13] During the war, because of the work opportunities available due to New Zealand’s economic prosperity[14], many Indigenous Maori (mainly men) moved into urban areas to support the war effort.[15] After the war, Maori continued to move into urban areas. In 1960, as more Maori migrated into the cities, the New Zealand government came to recognise that the cities needed their labour. Maori families living in rural areas were encouraged by the government to move to the big cities “with the provision of ‘accommodation, employment and general assistance in adjusting to a new life’”.[16] Maori saw this as a good opportunity and moved into the big cities so that they could work and earn money engaging in unskilled or semi-skilled jobs.[17]

Urbanisation is important because before urbanisation (which occurred from the 1950s onwards) Maori prison rates were the same as non-Maori. Maori imprisonment rates increased slightly after urbanisation but then it started to increase rapidly when the ‘neo- liberal’ economic changes occurred.[18]

 

Neo- Liberalism

The Neo-Liberal economic policies that were put in place between 1984-1985 are the second factor that explains the rise of mass Maori imprisonment, as imprisonment rates increased significantly after the economic polices changes.[19] In 1984 the Labour government introduced neo – ‘liberal’ economic policies. These emphasised economic liberalism and deregulation to make way for free market ideologies.[20] The aim of these economic polices was to reduce government spending on social welfare benefits, to reduce direct taxation, to increase indirect taxation (on the market), to increase market competition, to privatise government assets and to decrease wages. This increased unemployment and poverty. [21]   These economic policies were to the benefit of capitalism, as all of the aforementioned increases generate profit.

 

One profound effect of these neo-liberal economic policies is that income inequality increases between the rich and the poor (the rich get richer and the poor get poorer). [22] The poor find themselves earning low wages, which increases their poverty.[23] They also find themselves deliberately excluded from the employment market.[24] This is precisely what happened to Maori and what is still happening to the Maori population today.[25]

Maori were affected disproportionately by these economic policies.[26] As social welfare benefits decreased, unemployment increased drastically.[27] Maori relied on the state during the urbanisation period for housing and benefits; the neo-liberal changes affected Maori the most because these welfare services were no longer available and Maori found themselves without any support and without any jobs.  This led to Maori poverty and economic deprivation, which in turn increased criminal behaviour[28] (particularly among young Maori).[29]  Maori were also subject to forced land alienation throughout history by the state[30], which exacerbated their economic position and made Maori more dependent on the state.

The evidence suggests that there is a relationship between poverty and criminal offending.[31] Moana Jackson, Kylee Quince and Mason Durie argue that the process of colonisation has contributed to the widening of the socio-economic disparities among Maori and non-Maori and both suggest that there is a relationship between poverty and criminal offending. [32] Poverty is associated with risk factors, such as alcohol abuse and gambling, which increase criminal offending. [33] Other risk factors are unemployment also increases criminal offending. [34]  Research suggests that Maori are in the low-socio- economic group in society and that unemployment is high among Maori. [35] How does the state deal with these issues? The next section will examine how the state response to Maori.

 

Security state

Due to the economic changes that occurred in 1984-1985, crime increasingly became a social problem.[36] These economic changes created insecurity as unemployment increased.[37]Prison became a tool for the state to deal with the social issues that were created by the neo-liberal policies of economic deregulation and social welfare cut back and this predominantly caused the mass incarceration of minority groups.  This caused the emergence of the security state. Loic Waquant explains this:

 

Increase of caceral populations in advanced societies is due to the growing use of the penal system as an instrument of managing social insecurity and containing the social disorders created at the bottom of the class structure by neo- liberal policies of economic deregulation and social welfare retrenchment.[38]

Thus in response to increasing tensions and insecurity created by the economic changes laws were implemented. Tougher sentences were set. Criminals were imprisoned for longer periods of time, strict paroles were set, and the rights of victims were  emphasised.[39]   In order to eliminate problems of high unemployment and poverty, for example, the state incarcerates the marginalised group so that they ‘disappear’ from society.[40] To a large extent, the state does not want to take responsibility for the marginalisation of the group, because it has to fix the problem it caused. The state takes a different approach—that of criminalising poverty and marginality.[41] The effect of is that there is a:

rise in the number of people being put behind bars as the state relies increasingly on the police and penal institutions to contain the disorders produced by mass unemployment, the imposition of precarious wage work and the shrinking of social protection.[42]

 

In relation to Maori over-representation in prisons, imprisonment becomes a way of removing Maori from society because they will ‘cause problems’ due to their disadvantage position (low income, no employment) in society; as a result Maori are over-criminalised and are subject to on-going social control.[43]

Prison in this sense serves as a technique to marginalise groups who are disposed as a way of solving underlying social issues—largely economic deprivation. Instead of the state providing support for those who are marginalised in society prisons are used to remove them from society so that they are not disruptive.[44] The state’s response in dealing with the Maori population has been to over-criminalise and over-police Maori.[45] These measures increase their chances of going to prison.

First, Maori are over-criminalised.[46] Maori are more likely to be apprehended, charged and sentenced than other groups.[47] Almost 46 per cent of police apprehensions are Maori and they account for over 50 per cent of the prison population. [48] According to the Ministry of Justice report on the Overrepresentation of Maori in the Criminal Justice system, more non-Maori were apprehended for violent offences and property offences but more Maori were convicted than non-Maori.[49] The report notes that 13 per cent of Maori received a sentence of imprisonment as opposed to 7 to 9 per cent of Europeans and 79 per cent of Maori were convicted as opposed to 70 per cent of non- Maori.[50] This shows that Maori are far more likely to be convicted of an offence than other groups, thus increasing Maori imprisonments.

 

Secondly, Maori are also over-policed.[51] For example, the police are more likely to be in areas where Maori live and more crime is expected to occur in Maori neighbourhoods.  Furthermore, because of their economic position, Maori are far more likely to depend on the government for housing, education, health and benefits.[52] As a result they are more likely to be scrutinised, over-survilenanced and over-policed.

Scholars like Jackson and Quince argue that race plays a role. For example, the police and judges appear to disadvantage Maori when it comes to discretion—the police in particular, as they decide whether to arrest an alleged offender or not, or how they should deal with the offender.[53] Quince also notes that there is a greater tendency for police to suspect Maori of an offence.[54] This suggests that it is not that Maori are committing more crime than the rest of the population, but rather that Maori are subject to over-policing and are over-criminalised.

Thirdly, because of over-criminalisation and over-policing, Maori become over-incarcerated. Over 50 per cent of the prison population are Maori, despite their only constituting 15 per cent of the general population. [55]

The over-policing and over-criminalising of minority groups is a global phenomenon.  It especially affects Indigenous populations and other groups that have historically been subject to state mistreatment. For example, Australian Aboriginals make up 2.3 per cent of the Australian populations and they account for over 14 per cent of the prison population.[56] Young African Americans are also grossly over-represented in prisons. [57] These groups have become grossly over-represented became they have become the targets of laws that over-criminalise these groups. They are the subject of on-going social control by the state and prison becomes a tool that hides the nagging problem of persistent marginality rooted in unemployment and other social disadvantages’[58] from society— prison ‘operates as a judicial garage disposal into which the human refuse of the market society are thrown.’ [59] ‘The human refusal of the market’ are clearly the marginalised minorities and this really undermines principles of fairness, equality and the rule of law that the criminal ‘justice’ system is suppose to represent. It appears that these principles do not apply to these groups as the system directly disadvantages them.

 

Conclusion

Imprisonment is a mechanism of social control. Marginalised groups are made into breeding grounds for real criminals and are blamed for social problems.[60]   Social problems like poverty and high unemployment. Barbara Hudson points out that ‘blamed is attached to individuals, and social responsibility for crime is denied, lack of investment in areas of high unemployment is blamed on crime…the unemployed are said to be happy to depend on welfare payments, to have a different (pro-crime) set of values from those of the rest of society.’[61]  Since they have ‘a different set of values from the rest of society’ they are punished.  The prison serves to maintain power relations between the powerful class and powerless marginalised class. The marginalised class is socially excluded and are made into scapegoats for all the social problems and their overrepresentation in prisons signifies this power relationship.

 

 

References

Bullimore, K. "Media Dreaming :Representation of Aboriginality in Modern Australia Media." Asia Pacific Media Educator 7, no. 6 (1999): 72-81.

Durie, Hon E Taihakurei. "The Study of Maori Offending." In New Zealand Parole Board Conference Wellington 2007.

Durie, Mason. "Imprisonment, Trapped Lifestyles, and Strategies for Freedom 

" In Ngā Kāhui Pou – Launching Māori Futures. Wellington 2003

Hudson, Barbara A. "The Political Economy of Punishment ". In Understanding Jusitce : An Introduction to Ideas, Persepctives and Controversies in Modern Penal Theory edited by Mike Maguire. 96-127. Buckingham and Philadelphia Open University Press 2003.

" Impact- Maori and the Second World War ". Ministry for Culture and Heritage http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/war/maori-and-the-second-world-war/impact

John Pratt, Marie Clark. "Penal Populism in New Zealand." Punishment & Society 7, no. 3 (2005): 303-22.

Lucus, Alex Latu and Albany. "Discretion in New Zealand System ". Journal of South Pacific Law 12, no. 1 (2008).

Malley, Parick O'. "The Amplifcation of Maori Crime: Cultural and Economic Barriers to Equal Justice in New Zealand ". Race and Class 15 (1973): 47-57.

Marie, Dannete. "Maori and the Criminal Justice System: A Critical Appraisal ". Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology 43, no. 2 (2010): 282-300.

Meredith, Paul. "Urban Maori- Urbanisation." Te Ara Encylopaedia of New Zealand, http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/urban-maori/1

"Over-Representation of Māori in the Criminal Justice System :An Exploratory Report." 1-60: New Zealand Department of Corretions 2007.

Pratt, John. "The Dark Side of Paradise : Explaining New Zealand's History of High Imprisonment ". British Journal of Criminology 46, no. 4 (2006): 541-2005.

"Profile of New Zealand's Prison Populations and Trends ". New Zealand Minstry of Justice 2003.

Quince, Kylee. "Maori and the Criminal Justice System." Chap. 12 In The New Zealand Criminal Justice System,, edited by J Tolmie and W Brookbanks. 1-26. Auckland: LexisNexis, 2007.

Quince, Kylee. "Maori and the Criminal Justice System." Chap. 12 In New Zealand Criminal Justice System, edited by J Tolmie and W Brookbanks. Auckland: LexisNexi, 2007.

Rowland, D.T. "The Process  of Maori  Urbanisation ". New Zealand Geographer 28, no. 1 (2008 ): 1-22.

Simon, Jonathan. "Rise of the Carceral State." Sociol Research 74, no. 2 (2007): 471-507.

Wacquant, Loic. Punishing the Poor : The Neoliberal Government of Social  Insecuirty.  United States Duke University Press, 2009.

Waquant, Loic. "The Penalization of Poverty ". European Journal on Criminal policy and Research 9 (2001): 401-12.

Workman, Kim. "Māori and the Criminal Justice System " Rethinking Crime and Punishment http://www.rethinking.org.nz/Default.aspx?page=3629

 

 

Bibliography

"Impact-Maori and the Second World War". Ministry for Culture and Heritage http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/war/maori-and-the-second-world-war/impact

"Maori War Effort Organisation 1942-1945." Ministry for culture and Heritage http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/war/maori-war-effort-organisation

"Over-Representation of Māori in the Criminal Justice System: An Exploratory Report." 1-60: New Zealand Department of Corrections 2007.

"Profile of New Zealand's Prison Populations and Trends ". New Zealand Ministry of Justice 2003.

Chapple, Simon. "Maori Socio-Economic Disparity- Paper for the Ministry of Social Policy “: Department of Labour 2000.

Durie, Hon E Taihakurei. "The Study of Maori Offending." In New Zealand Parole Board Conference Wellington 2007.

Durie, Mason. "Imprisonment, Trapped Lifestyles, and Strategies for Freedom 

“In Ngā Kāhui Pou – Launching Māori Futures. Wellington 2003

Gibson, Campbell. "Urbanization in New Zealand ". Demography 10, no. 1 (1973): 71-84.

Hess, Joanne. "Addressing the Overrepresentation of Maori in the Criminal Justice System at the Sentencing Stage: How Australia   Can Provide a Model for Change." Pacific Rim Law & Journal Association 2, no. 1 (2011): 179-201.

Hudson, Barbara A. "The Political Economy of Punishment ". In Understanding Justice: An Introduction to Ideas, Perspectives and Controversies in Modern Penal Theory edited by Mike Maguire. 96-127. Buckingham and Philadelphia Open University Press 2003.

Jackson, Moana. "Criminality and the Exclusion of Maori ". Victoria University of Wellington Law Review 23 no. 3 (1990): 22-34.

John Pratt, Marie Clark. "Penal Populism in New Zealand." Punishment & Society 7, no. 3 (2005): 303-22.

Lucus, Alex Latu and Albany. "Discretion in New Zealand System ". Journal of South Pacific Law 12, no. 1 (2008).

Malley, Patrick O'. "The Amplification of Maori Crime: Cultural and Economic Barriers to Equal Justice in New Zealand ". Race and Class 15 (1973): 47-57.

Marie, Dannete. "Maori and the Criminal Justice System: A Critical Appraisal ". Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology 43, no. 2 (2010): 282-300.

Meredith, Paul. "Urban Maori- Urbanisation." Te Ara Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/urban-maori/1

Pratt, John. "The Dark Side of Paradise: Explaining New Zealand's History of High Imprisonment ". British Journal of Criminology 46, no. 4 (2006): 541-2005.

Pratt, John. "When Penal Populism Stops: Legitimacy, Scandal and the Power to Punish in New Zealand ". Australia & New Zealand Journal of Criminology 41, no. 3 (2008): 364-83

Quince, Kylee. "Maori and the Criminal Justice System." Chap. 12 In New Zealand Criminal Justice System, edited by J Tolmie and W Brookbanks. Auckland: LexisNexi, 2007.

Rowland, D.T. "The Process of Maori Urbanisation ". New Zealand Geographer 28, no. 1 (2008): 1-22.

Simon, Jonathan. "Rise of the Carceral State." Social Research 74, no. 2 (2007): 471-507.

Wacquant, Loic. Punishing the Poor: The Neoliberal Government of Social Insecurity.  United States Duke University Press, 2009.

Walmsley, Roy. "Global Incarceration and Prion Trends ". Crime and Society 3, no. 1 (2003): 1-14.

Waquant, Loic. "The Penalization of Poverty ". European Journal on Criminal policy and Research 9 (2001): 401-12.

Workman, Kim. "Māori and the Criminal Justice System” Rethinking Crime and Punishment http://www.rethinking.org.nz/Default.aspx?page=3629

Workman, Kim. "Redemption Denied: Aspects of Maori over-Representation in the Criminal Justice System." In Justice in the Round. University of Waikato 2011.

 

 

Footnotes:

[1] Marie Clark John Pratt, "Penal populism in New Zealand," Punishment & Society 7, no. 3 (2005).

[2] Kim Workman, "Māori and the Criminal Justice System " Rethinking Crime and Punishment http://www.rethinking.org.nz/Default.aspx?page=3629 ; Hon E Taihakurei Durie, "The Study of Maori Offending," in New Zealand Parole Board Conference (Wellington 2007); Dannete Marie, "Maori and the Criminal Justice system: A Critical Appraisal " Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology 43, no. 2 (2010); "Over-representation of Māori in the criminal justice system :An exploratory report,"  (New Zealand Department of Corretions 2007).

[3] John Pratt, "Penal populism in New Zealand," 304; "Profile of New Zealand's Prison Populations and Trends ",  (New Zealand Minstry of Justice 2003).

[4] " Impact- Maori and the second World War ", Ministry for Culture and Heritage http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/war/maori-and-the-second-world-war/impact

[5] John Pratt, "Penal populism in New Zealand," 308.

[6] Loic Waquant, "The Penalization of Poverty " European Journal on Criminal policy and Research 9(2001): 408.

[7] Ibid., 401.

[8] John Pratt, "Penal populism in New Zealand," 407; Waquant, "The Penalization of Poverty ".

[9] John Pratt, "The Dark Side of Paradise : Explaining New Zealand's History of High Imprisonment " British Journal of Criminology 46, no. 4 (2006): 555.

[10] Workman, "Māori and the Criminal Justice System ".  

[11] John Pratt, "Penal populism in New Zealand," 304.

[12] D.T. Rowland, "The process  of Maori  Urbanisation " New Zealand Geographer 28, no. 1 (2008 ): 1; Paul Meredith, "Urban Maori- Urbanisation," Te Ara Encylopaedia of New Zealand, http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/urban-maori/1

[13] Meredith, "Urban Maori- Urbanisation".

[14] Ibid.

[15] Ibid.

[16] Ibid.

[17] Parick O' Malley, "The Amplifcation of Maori Crime: Cultural and Economic Barriers to Equal Justice in New Zealand " Race and Class 15(1973): 47.

[18] Workman, "Māori and the Criminal Justice System ".

[19] Ibid.

[20] Waquant, "The Penalization of Poverty " 401.

[21] Ibid., 403.

[22] Ibid., 408; Loic Wacquant, Punishing the Poor : The Neoliberal government of Social  Insecuirty  (United States Duke University Press, 2009).

[23] Waquant, "The Penalization of Poverty " 408; Wacquant, Punishing the Poor : The Neoliberal government of Social  Insecuirty.

[24] Jonathan Simon, "Rise of the Carceral State," Sociol Research 74, no. 2 (2007): 475.

[25] Kylee Quince, "Maori and the Criminal Justice System," in The New Zealand Criminal Justice System,, ed. J Tolmie and W Brookbanks ( Auckland: LexisNexis, 2007); Waquant, "The Penalization of Poverty "; Mason Durie, "Imprisonment, Trapped Lifestyles, And Strategies For Freedom 

" in Ngā Kāhui Pou – Launching Māori Futures (Wellington 2003 ).

[26] John Pratt, "Penal populism in New Zealand," 308

[27] Ibid., 308.

[28] Quince, "Maori and the Criminal Justice System."

[29] Malley, "The Amplifcation of Maori Crime: Cultural and Economic Barriers to Equal Justice in New Zealand ".

[30]Kylee Quince, "Maori and the Criminal Justice System," in New Zealand Criminal Justice System, ed. J Tolmie and W Brookbanks (Auckland: LexisNexi, 2007).

[31] Quince, "Maori and the Criminal Justice System," 12.

[32]Quince, "Maori and the Criminal Justice System."; Durie, "Imprisonment, Trapped Lifestyles, And Strategies For Freedom ".

[33] Quince, "Maori and the Criminal Justice System," 10.

[34] Ibid., 12.

[35] Ibid., 12.

[36] John Pratt, "Penal populism in New Zealand," 306.

[37] Ibid., 306.

[38] Waquant, "The Penalization of Poverty " 401.

[39] John Pratt, "Penal populism in New Zealand," 306.

[40] Wacquant, Punishing the Poor : The Neoliberal government of Social  Insecuirty.

[41] Waquant, "The Penalization of Poverty " 401.

[42] Ibid., 403

[43] Quince, "Maori and the Criminal Justice System," 12; Quince, "Maori and the Criminal Justice System."

[44] Wacquant, Punishing the Poor : The Neoliberal government of Social  Insecuirty; Waquant, "The Penalization of Poverty ".

[45] Quince, "Maori and the Criminal Justice System."; Durie, "The Study of Maori Offending."

[46] Quince, "Maori and the Criminal Justice System," 2; "Over-representation of Māori in the criminal justice system :An exploratory report."

[47] "Over-representation of Māori in the criminal justice system :An exploratory report,"  14.

[48] Ibid.

[49] Ibid.

[50] Ibid.

[51] Quince, "Maori and the Criminal Justice System," 13.

[52] Quince, "Maori and the Criminal Justice System," 12.

[53] Alex Latu and Albany Lucus, "Discretion in New Zealand System " Journal of South Pacific Law 12, no. 1 (2008): 21; Quince, "Maori and the Criminal Justice System."; "Over-representation of Māori in the criminal justice system :An exploratory report."

[54] Quince, "Maori and the Criminal Justice System."

[55] Quince, "Maori and the Criminal Justice System."; Durie, "Imprisonment, Trapped Lifestyles, And Strategies For Freedom "; Lucus, "Discretion in New Zealand System ".

[56] K Bullimore, "Media Dreaming :Representation of Aboriginality in Modern Australia Media," Asia Pacific Media Educator 7, no. 6 (1999).

[57] Simon, "Rise of the Carceral State," 472.  

[58] Wacquant, Punishing the Poor : The Neoliberal government of Social  Insecuirty: 61.

[59] Ibid., 43.

[60] Ibid., 49.

[61]Barbara A. Hudson, "The Political Economy of Punishment " in Understanding Jusitce : An Introduction to ideas, persepctives and Controversies in Modern Penal Theory ed. Mike Maguire (Buckingham and Philadelphia Open University Press 2003), 125.