More than 20,000 New Zealand children have a parent in jail and those youngsters are up to seven times more likely to end up as prisoners, a child charity says.
However, new initiatives such as more child-friendly prisons could help cut the numbers.
Pillars, a charity which supports prisoners' children and their families and is marking Children of Prisoners Week, commissioned a two-year study which looked at the needs of inmates' children. It found 23,000 children had a parent in jail. The charity interviewed 271 prisoners and 74 children and whanau members.
Contrary to a belief that children of prisoners should be kept away from their incarcerated parent because of a fear they would be normalised to the culture, the study found children and prisoners could benefit from contact.
The research found no evidence to support "normalisation" of prison culture being a cause of inter-generational crime. A more likely cause was the economic and social circumstances of the families.
"Most of these children live in conditions of significant poverty, where their basic needs struggle to be met.
"Families endure these effects and are resigned to the children, in many cases, getting into trouble."
Pillars employs social workers to support whanau and runs a mentoring programme for children of prisoners, but chief executive Verna McFelin also stresses the importance of strong family relationships for children.
"Parent-child bonding is a critical component for child wellbeing ...
"It's the separation of the child from their parent that actually does the damage."
Pillars recommends the Corrections Department introduce free methods of communication between inmates and families, make the visiting process as pleasant as possible, and ensures prisoners are good parents even while in prison.
Locked up
8134: Male
515: Female
8649: Total prison population
Ethnic breakdown
51.0%: Maori
32.9%: European
11.7%: Pacific Island
2.7%: Asian
1.7%: Other
Source: Department of Corrections
