Māori crime: possibilities and limits of an indigenous criminology

Abstract

Māori are the indigenous people of Aotearoa/New Zealand, and figure more highly in the recorded rates of crime on a population basis than other ethnic groups in the country. This thesis examines the various discourses of state and criminal justice agencies that have been used to account for Māori offending. The analysis demonstrates that state explanations of Māori offending have been derived from a mixture of Western theoretical paradigms. These theories have also informed the criminal justice responses to Māori. More recently, Māori philosophies of justice, in the form of a distinctly Māori criminology, have presented a counter-discourse on Māori offending that challenges the inherent assumptions present in state explanations and practices. This thesis identifies and critiques the theories that have underpinned state explanations of Māori offending. In light of this critique, the directions and challenges that Māori criminology faces are addressed.