People Against Prisons Aotearoa: Care not Cages campaign
People Against Prisons Aotearoa (PAPA) is running the Care Not Cages campaign in response to the current moral panic around crime. They are concerned about how this moral panic has been used to justify ‘tough on crime’ policies like increased policing, harsher prison sentences, and youth boot camps.
For as long as these policies have been used, they have failed to reduce crime and social harm. At the same time, they have breached Te Tiriti o Waitangi and cemented the marginalisation of our most vulnerable communities.
The Care Not Cages campaign aims to oppose tough on crime policies and to transform our criminal justice system into one that centres on (re)habilitation, restoration, transformation and prevention, while also honouring Te Tiriti.
The central demand for this campaign is for the Government to implement all 12 recommendations from the Turuki! Turuki! report. If implemented, it would transform our criminal justice system in such a way that tough on crime policies could not arise again. The government has, so far, failed to commit to the recommendations.
Read the Turuki Turuki! report on transforming our criminal justice system (Te Uepū Hāpai i Te Ora
Safe and Effective Justice Advisory Group).
Learn more about People Against Prisons Aotearoa and how to get involved in the campaign.
People Against Prisons Aotearoa is a prison abolitionist organisation working for a fairer, safer, and more just Aotearoa.