In the traditions of the Howard League movement in Aotearoa New Zealand, our vision of a more humane and effective response to crime:

• A criminal justice system that is ‘smart on crime’: led by evidence, not ideology or party politics.

• A very significant reduction in the use of prison, arising—in part—from a fundamental transformation of our criminal justice system, so that it seeks to heal, not harm, and respects tikanga Māori. Ultimately, however, the answers to crime are not in the justice system itself but in a just society, which invests properly in education, housing, and health and upholds Tiriti | Treaty obligations to Māori.

• Much better conditions and opportunities for those who remain in prison: the rights of people in prison are upheld and their education, rehabilitation, and reintegration is prioritised.