Imprisonment in Aotearoa New Zealand: Identifying “justice gaps” for tamariki, rangatahi and wāhine in the responses to female offenders
About the project
This project involves two interconnected studies. The first investigates whether and how the interests of dependent tamariki and rangatahi can be better accommodated in making bail decisions and/or sentencing their primary caregivers, as well as the impact on New Zealand children of parental imprisonment. The second targets “justice gaps” in how the criminal law responds to offending by wāhine. The issues are interconnected because the imprisonment of mothers is statistically likely to have more significant consequences for their children. It follows that better justice responses to wāhine in the criminal justice system would be a key contributor to improved outcomes for their children.
The project will use a mixed methods approach, generating high level statistical data, undertaking case analysis and interviewing those who have relevant professional and lived experience. The aim is to determine what is currently happening and to facilitate evidence-based suggestions for improvement.
The project will directly benefit some of New Zealand’s most vulnerable populations – predominantly Māori women and children who bear the brunt of social precarity in our communities and are disproportionately impacted by current justice practices.
Grant amount
$446,218.25 for work in 2026–2028
About the researchers
The research team bring decades of experience in research and policy work in relation to the criminal law and the criminal justice process, particularly as these impact Māori.
Julia Tolmie is a professor of criminal law at the University of Auckland; Tracey McIntosh, Ngāi Tūhoe, is a professor of Indigenous studies at Te Wānanga o Waipapa (School of Māori Studies and Pacific Studies) at the University of Auckland; Khylee Quince, Ngāpuhi, Te Roroa, Ngāti Porou and Ngāti Kahungunu, is a professor in criminal law and Māori legal issues at the Auckland University of Technology; and Barry Milne is the Director of the Centre of Methods and Policy Application in the Social Sciences at the University of Auckland.
Contact
Julia Tolmie, Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Auckland