Source: (2004) Te Ara Whakatika: Newsletter of the court-referred restorative justice project. Summer 2004. Issue 23. Downloaded 8 February 2005.
Bringing victims and offenders together, and reaching an agreement on how the wrong that has been done is best corrected, can achieve much more than the traditional “production line” system of justice, says Justice Minister Phil Goff. Speaking at the launch of the expansion of Project Turnaround in Timaru, the Minister said that for New Zealand’s justice system to be truly effective, “we need more than simple reliance on imprisonment, because international experience shows that the best way to turn around the lives of offenders is not in prisons. Early intervention is the most effective way of preventing crime by dealing with its causes, and more is being, and will continue to be done, in this area.” Mr Goff said that restorative justice was an innovative and effective way of reducing re-offending, as Project Turnaround had demonstrated. (excerpt)
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