Our Services
Section 27 Cultural Reports
An individual’s background and the precipitating factors that may have contributed to offending should be considered in relation to sentencing. It is imperative the court receives detailed information in order to make the necessary assessment.
Preparation of s 27 Cultural Reports are conducted under s 27 of the Sentencing Act (2002), which allows the court to hear topics that are relevant to an individual’s background.
These topics can include:
The personal, family, whānau, community and cultural background of the offender.
The way in which these may have related to the offence.
Processes that have been tried to resolve issues relating to the offence (eg: restorative justice).
How support from the offender’s background may be available to prevent further offending.
How community support may be relevant in terms of possible sentences.
Interviewing
The purpose of the initial interview is to obtain a detailed history on the client’s background. This may include questions around childhood, cultural background, education and any community or treatment programmes the client has participated in.
During this interview we will also ask the client to identify any friends, whānau or professionals who they consider to be positive supports and/or who know their background well. This is for purposes of corroboration and providing additional information where possible.
Depending on the timeframe we are working with, we will usually conduct an additional follow up interview prior to submission of the report.
Our Process
Typically, the lawyer for the offender will engage our services. We will review relevant documents such as any criminal history and the statement of offending and arrange an initial interview with the offender.
Our writers work together on every s 27 Cultural Report. This collaborative strategy ensures reports are prepared to the highest standard and are peer reviewed.
During the initial client interview we may also request permission to access to any previous psychological reports, Oranga Tamariki files or any prior parole files if relevant.
Supporting interviews with friends, whānau and any relevant organisations are conducted by one writer. Interview documents are reviewed by both writers.
Reports are prepared following the best practice described by the Supreme Court in Berkland v R [1].
The report is submitted to the lawyer for the offender at least one week prior to sentencing.
[1] Berkland v R [2022] NZSC 143.
Feedback
Clients to date have received an average of 20% discount after consideration of s 27 Cultural Reports prepared by Applied Research & Reports.