Traditional Maori Ways Translate to a New Style of Justice in Britain

by Kathy Marks, The Independent, 25 August 2003

Teria sidles into the room, black baseball cap jammed down over her dyed red hair. Seated in a semi-
circle are her parents, an aunt and a family friend – along with Ian, a taxi driver robbed and assaulted
by Teria last month, and his wife.

The atmosphere in the room, in a town north of Wellington, is tense. Teria, a 16-year-old Maori girl,
5 looks anguished. Tonight she must confront the man whom she and a friend lured into a dead-end
street and attacked. She will learn firsthand about Ian’s suffering, and be asked to help draw up a fitting
punishment for herself.

This is restorative justice, a system that has transformed the way juvenile offenders are treated in
New Zealand and now embraced wholeheartedly by the British Government. It brings criminals and
10 their victims face to face, and assigns responsibility for retribution to families and the community.

David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, last month announced plans for a major extension of a
restorative justice scheme to deal with school bullies, already tested in two London boroughs. A
program is to be set up for adult offenders, who could avoid being taken to court or have their
sentences cut.

15 Based on concepts rooted in ancient Maori and Pacific Islander tradition, it is internationally
admired and is being emulated by a number of countries as well as Britain.

The aim is to keep young people out of court, reduce the rate of recidivism and give victims a
meaningful role in the legal process. The approach has proved so successful in New Zealand that a pilot
project is now under way in the adult justice system.

20 But critics claim it is a soft option offering the opportunity for a criminal to say sorry to their victim
and avoid harsher punishments. The Government says that the schemes have the potential to deliver
“faster, more cost effective justice” and hopes it will have an effect on the rising prison population.

Research from some of the programs in Britain has been mixed, offering something to both sides of
the argument.

25 Early analysis of a 15-month study has suggested it could prove more effective for those offenders
behind more serious offences, while finding no strong evidence that offending behavior could be
changed among the young.

However, Debra Clothier, chief executive of the Restorative Justice Consortium, welcomed the
planned extension of the schemes. “Our view is that every victim should have this opportunity, should
30 they wish, whether someone goes to prison or gets a caution.”

In Maori culture, and in Pacific nations such as Tonga and Samoa, the restorative philosophy has
guided society for centuries. In these communities, the extended family (known as “whanau” in the
Maori language) and the tribe (“iwi”) are the bedrocks. A crime committed by one individual against
another has profound repercussions for the whanau and iwi.

35 As Saga Manu, a Samoan youth justice coordinator, explains: “Where I come from, we don’t go to
the police. If my son commits a crime against you, then your family seeks restitution from mine. It’s up
to the families and the village elders to sort it.” All 14 to 17-year-old offenders in New Zealand must
now attend a family group conference. A punishment plan – often including an apology, community
work and financial reparation – is drawn up and must be approved by all parties before ratification by
40 a judge. The offenders get a clean slate upon completing the plan. If not, a court case and possible
custodial sentence await.

Teria’s conference takes place in a depressed town with a large Maori and Pacific Islander
population. A police officer describes how Teria and her friend got into Ian’s taxi, grabbed his collar,
semi-choking him and robbing him of NZ$ 50 (€ 17). Teria told him she had a knife and a gun. When
45 she is asked why she did it, she mumbles, “Dunno,” staring at the floor.

Now it’s Ian’s turn. He articulates his shock at being attacked. “It’s the last thing you expect, from
two girls. It was scary. At what stage do you stop being a gentleman and start protecting your life?
That’s what went through my mind. It’s the first time anything like that has happened to me.” Ian, who
bit Teria’s friend’s finger, drawing blood, subsequently learned that she had hepatitis B. He had a three-
50 day wait for a negative blood test result. He no longer works nights, the most lucrative time, and will
not pick up some passengers. His wife and three daughters are deeply upset.

Teria’s relatives are visibly distressed by this account. Her mother, eloquent and dignified, says the
family accepts responsibility. “We’re absolutely remorseful and we’ll do whatever we can to make
amends,” she says. Left in private, Teria and her family must determine what restitution needs to be
55 made. Their plan – with 100 hours of community work and a NZ$ 250 (€ 83) payment for lost earnings
– is signed by everyone in turn. Finally, after three hours, Teria finds her voice. “I just want to say
sorry,” she tells Ian. “I shouldn’t have done it. It was a stupid thing t do.” He nods. “Thanks,” he says.

As Teria apologizes, tears roll down the cheeks of her father, an enormous Maori man, and her aunt.
Ian’s eyes are brimming. The evening ends with everyone embracing.

60 Saga believes Teria and that she will not reoffend after the experience. Sixty percent of young
people who attend group conferences commit no further crime; only a minority of juvenile offenders
even reach the conference stage, with the remainder dealt with by the police. (…)

(928 words)
Annotations:

title Maori original race of people living in New Zealand

1 sidle hineinschleichen
1 jam down on tief aufsetzen
5 anguished qualvoll
5 lure locken
12 bully person who uses their strength to frighten or hurt weaker people
12 borough Stadtgemeinde/-bezirk
16 emulate nacheifern
17 recidivism Rückfälligkeit
33 bedrock Basis, Fundament
34 repercussions Auswirkungen
37 village elders Dorfälteste
39 ratification Genehmigung
40 a clean slate weiße Weste
41 custodial sentence Verurteilung z. Gefängnis-/Heimaufenthalt
45 dunno don’t know (slang)
59 brimming voller Tränen

Choose one of the tasks below and write an analysis with minimum 250 words:

*Analyze how the victim in this story was affected by the crime committed against him and how
genuinely sorry Teria seems to be.

*Examine what effects going through the restorative justice process has on criminals and their families.