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Police Minister Paula Bennett and Justice Minister Amy Adams say using digital devices to take onsite statements from victims of family violence will reduce the stress on victims, save Police time and create richer evidence for the courts.

Budget 2017 invests $1.24 billion of new operating funding over four years and $785.6 million of capital funding in law and order initiatives to help make our communities safer, Police Minister Paula Bennett, Justice and Courts Minister Amy Adams, and Corrections Minister Louise Upston say.

“The extra investment in Budget 2017 includes the $503.8 million Safer Communities Package which was announced earlier this year and will deliver an additional 1,125 police staff,” Mrs Bennett says.

Police Minister Paula Bennett and Justice Minister Amy Adams have today announced $10 million for initiatives to improve Māori justice outcomes.

“It is well known that Māori are overrepresented at every stage in the criminal justice system. We’re not prepared to accept that continuing,” says Mrs Bennett.

“Tackling this issue is a priority for the justice sector which is why we have set aside $10 million of the Justice Sector Fund for initiatives that will improve outcomes for Māori in the justice system,” says Ms Adams.

A potentially life-saving scheme that allows Police to disclose a person’s violent past to a partner or friend has been used 158 times since it was launched, say Police Minister Paula Bennett and Justice Minister Amy Adams.

“Since the scheme’s launch in December 2015, Police have approved 74 per cent of disclosure requests. Preventing family violence is a priority for Police and this scheme gives them another way to help reduce harm.”

Ministers today welcomed the start of the second Integrated Safety Response (ISR) pilot site in Waikato and announced another $1.4 million in new funding to support the pilot programme.

The ISR pilot involves core agencies and specialist family violence NGOs working together as a team to ensure that families experiencing violence get the help and support they need to stay safe.

An additional $1.4 million from the Justice Sector Fund will support the new site in Waikato, as well as the Christchurch pilot site which has been up and running since 4 July.

Ministers today confirmed Waikato would be the second site for the Integrated Safety Response pilot.

The pilot, also being run in Christchurch, brings together different agencies involved in family violence to support victims and their families in a daily safety assessment approach.

Ministers today welcomed a new pilot in Christchurch which aims to ensure families experiencing family violence are safe and receive the services they need to prevent further harm.

At the heart of the new approach are government agencies and NGOs working together for families and whānau to provide increased support to high-risk victims, better manage perpetrators and improve collaboration between agencies.

A pilot to support judges to make better informed family violence bail decisions expands to Wellington, Wairarapa and Northland, Justice Minister Amy Adams and Police Minister Judith Collins have announced today.

The pilot programme gives judges making bail decisions in family violence cases more information about the risks defendants pose.

As part of the Government’s commitment to a more integrated, more effective response to family violence, an innovative new approach is to be piloted in Christchurch from 1 July, Ministers have announced.

The Integrated Safety Response pilot will bring together a team of Police, CYF, Corrections, Health, specialist family violence NGOs and Māori service providers to support victims and their families.

The pilot is part of the comprehensive cross-agency work programme overseen by the Ministerial Group on Family Violence and Sexual Violence.

A new disclosure scheme will make it easier for Police to disclose a person’s violent criminal past to a concerned partner or friend.

Justice Minister Amy Adams and Police Minister Judith Collins welcomed the new Family Violence Information Disclosure Scheme as the latest in a series of improvements and new services available to family violence victims.

Justice Minister Amy Adams says the scheme will help reduce the incidents of family violence in the home and potentially save lives.

Agencies are taking steps to ensure an effective response to the growing problem of cybercrime with the establishment of a new interagency cybercrime plan.

“In a changing world where online security is an issue, we need to be on the front foot against cybercrime” says Justice and Communications Minister Amy Adams.

The cybercrime plan is part of the Government’s refreshed Cyber Security Strategy, launched in Auckland today by Ms Adams.

Justice Minister Amy Adams and Police Minister Michael Woodhouse welcome a pilot by frontline Police staff in Palmerston North to record victim video statements using their iPhone 6+ at the scene of certain family violence incidents.

Justice and Courts Minister Amy Adams and Police Minister Michael Woodhouse will travel to Canberra today to represent the New Zealand Government at the fourth meeting of the Law, Crime and Community Safety Council.

“With key sessions on law enforcement, law reform, and family and community safety, this is an invaluable forum for discussing current justice sector issues and sharing ideas and experiences,” Ms Adams says.

Justice Minister Amy Adams and Immigration and Police Minister Michael Woodhouse have today met with Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton in Sydney to continue discussions around the deportation of New Zealanders.

“The issue around the deportation of New Zealanders from Australia is a significant issue for us and this meeting was an opportunity to continue to work through our ongoing concerns,” Ms Adams says.

Justice Minister Amy Adams and Police Minister Michael Woodhouse today announced that an information sharing arrangement with Australia regarding trans-Tasman deportations has been signed by both countries.

The arrangement follows a commitment made in February by the New Zealand and Australian Prime Ministers to progress an arrangement covering information sharing and deportations.