#55 - Vaughan Winiata - Why Do We Have Prisons?

If you ask most people, a safe and just community is a key part of social cohesion.

People want safety to go about their business, certainty that there are consequences for bad actions and opportunities for both success and redemption.

But what does that look like?

A large topic of discussion is whether we are tough enough on crime. Are we doing enough to prevent crime and are we doing enough to mete out justice?

Rising social disadvantage, gang-related violent crime and intergenerational incarceration are complex issues that require deeper examination.

When recidivism is so high, can we say that prisons are working to keep us safer? Or are we asking prisons to do too many things?

On this episode I kōrero with Vaughan Winiata. Vaughan is a serial businessman, champion for Māori business and has spent the last several years working towards improving prisoner reintegration and gang member rehabilitation. Vaughan shares with us the reality of prison, the challenges inmates face on returning to society and why we even have prisons in the first place.