Te Kooti o Timatanga Hou/The Court of New Beginnings in Auckland deals with offenders who are homeless. It is my privilege to preside at the monthly sittings of the Court.

The Court process involves a non-adversarial, coordinated, inter-agency approach to addressing the legal, social and health-related issues that have led to the participants’ offending and their homelessness. As well as holding them accountable for their offending, and ensuring that victims’ issues are addressed, the Court ensures that the necessary social and health supports are provided to address the underlying causes of the offending and the homelessness.

The Court started in 2010 and evaluations have shown that this approach greatly reduces reoffending rates (by 66%), and saves on nights spent in prison (by 78%) and hospital admissions (by 78%). It is a great example of how the Court can work collaboratively with the community to bring about positive change.

Judge Tony Fitzgerald

District Courts of New Zealand Annual Report 2015