JustSpeak Research & Reports
JustSpeak aims to replace outdated narratives about law and order with new conversations about prevention, healing and community well-being - all supported by credible evidence. We do this through a range of research projects and reports which you can read below.
August 2024. Author: Dr Ti Lamusse, Lecturer in Criminology, Victoria University of Wellington. Aotearoa Justice Watch (AJW) is a group of independent organisations that care about justice and human rights, and believe more must be done to protect people and communities who are harmed by our current prison and policing systems. AJW is JustSpeak, Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand, New Zealand Council for Civil Liberties and People Against Prisons Aotearoa. This inaugural report details numerous testimonies of abuse, discrimination and alleged violations of human rights within New Zealand’s criminal justice system. *Trigger warning* sexual violence.
December 2020. Author: JustSpeak. This briefing report called on the newly elected Government to focus on changing the systems and structures to create the outcomes we want to achieve.
September 2020. Author: JustSpeak. Our Blueprint for a Just Aotearoa lays out funding, policy and legislative actions in three key areas; build communities not prisons, decolonise the justice system, and ensure every whānau and community have the resources they need to thrive.
August 2020. Authors: Marianne Elliott and Dr Jess Berentson-Shaw, in collaboration with JustSpeak. This report is the culmination of two years of primary research by The Workshop and JustSpeak, drawing on evidence-led communications theory to provide practical guidance and resources for people who communicate about justice. It’s a great read for anyone interested in justice transformation in Aotearoa New Zealand.
July 2020. Authors: Elizabeth Stanely and Joe Potter, Institute of Criminology, Victoria University of Wellington. This report explores the potential of justice reinvestment as an alternative to the ongoing expansion of a punitive criminal justice system. Justice Reinvestment (JR) has emerged out of a recognition that traditional criminal justice approaches have failed marginalised and discriminated groups in particular and, more generally, have led to poor outcomes for communities.
February 2020. Author: JustSpeak. We believe no matter who you are, our justice system should treat you fairly and without prejudice. This short report draws on data from JustSpeak’s IDI (Integrated Data Infrastructure) research on Police, and shows the justice system does not treat everyone equally.
March 2018. Author: JustSpeak. Among the public, there are several prominent arguments that drive the belief in prisons as institutions that promote and maintain public safety. These include assumptions that prisons are necessary to deter offending, to rehabilitate, and to grant restitution to victims and survivors. All of these assumptions are contradicted by research and by the experiences of people who have been directly affected by this system. This paper examines these arguments from a theoretical perspective and looks to contribute to the conversation by critiquing the evidence behind the use of prison as a criminal justice tool.
April 2017. Author: JustSpeak. In 2013 Treasury talked of declining expenditure on criminal justice in a world where other fiscal costs such as health and superannuation spending were expected to increase. In 2016, the Government announced the building of an additional prison. What happened? This report joins the dots.
November 2017. Author: JustSpeak. JustSpeak released a briefing to the incoming Ministers which identifies key issues that must be addressed if the Government is to successfully achieve its goal of a 30% reduction in the prison population. This report calls on the new Government to take urgent and meaningful action to reduce New Zealand’s ballooning prison population.
June 2014. Author: JustSpeak. This report provides an evidence-based examination of the prison system in Aotearoa New Zealand and sets out JustSpeak’s recommendations for reforming it.
March 2012. Author: JustSpeak. In 1988 Moana Jackson raised the profile of significant challenges facing Māori in the criminal justice system. Jackson wrote of the interconnectedness and depth of the problems (which extended across police, politicians, the public service, judges, and juries), but was also willing to suggest solutions, which included the development of a separate Māori criminal justice system. Over 20 years on, JustSpeak reviewed the state of issues relating to Māori and the criminal justice system. That review began in a forum held on 2 November 2011, and was developed into this longer Position Paper.