This report explores how creating overseas travel opportunities for young offenders, or those at risk of offending, are likely to have a positive impact on their lives and personal development. The aim is to provide useful background and practical information to aid the Ka Pai Kaiti Trust as it looks to develop a pilot programme in Gisborne.
For its conclusions and recommendations this report draws on an analysis of documents and other outputs and a limited number of interviews with people working with young offenders in Gisborne and organisations currently providing ‘transformative’ experiences in developing countries.
Young offending is clearly a problem in Gisborne, consists largely of ‘dishonesty’ offences and occurs at a rate which exceeds the Aotearoa/New Zealand national average. The overwhelming majority of offences are perpetrated by young men who self-identify as Maori.