Take2: Breaking the Cycle of Crime Through Tech
Take2 helps to break a cycle of crime through an initiative that has proven to be successful in multiple international contexts. By teaching men in Auckland South Corrections Facility to code and providing them with education-employment pathways, Take2 helps them on their journey to finding meaningful employment opportunities.
The team delivers a three-year programme providing the resources, connections and support for a life-changing experience. They offer 12-months of intensive web development training, equipping participants with the skills required to participate in Aotearoa New Zealand’s thriving technology sector.
The students taking part are reaping many benefits, including increased wellbeing and an environment that is helping to restore their mana and confidence:
“Before I started Take2 I had no hope of a positive future for myself. The last few years leading up to my imprisonment was a downward spiral of failure and disappointment. My incarceration was the end of that spiral, and I couldn’t see a positive life for myself anymore. Since then Take2 has turned my life around and has helped me build real meaningful changes in myself and lifestyle. Take2 has developed qualities in myself I never knew I had in me and supports me through every step of my journey. Take2 really feels like a second chance at life and has been a healing experience for me. I feel happy, confident and can see a bright and better future for myself and my family.”
Once released from prison, Take2 supports its graduates for a minimum of 24-months as they reintegrate back into the community. With technology set to become Aotearoa New Zealand's largest export sector within the next ten years, Take2 is helping to prepare some of our vulnerable citizens for the future of work. Getting the programme off the ground wasn’t without its challenges, as Cameron Smith, Take2 Founder and CEO, outlines.
“We needed to first secure seed funding, while also gaining interest from prisons and the tech industry simultaneously. Next, we needed to find a progressive-thinking prison: we found this with Auckland South Corrections Facility. We also had to overcome people’s fears and assumptions about teaching tech skills to people in prison. We needed to convince them that it is unlikely the skills will be used for improper purposes and that people in prison can learn tech skills,” says Cameron.
Besides developing new skills and accessing new opportunities, the men are also benefiting from a sense of belonging:
“There is something deeply spiritual about our class. Maybe it’s the diversity of heritage and faith or the self-imposed tikanga we hold ourselves and each other accountable to. Maybe it’s the kindness of strangers from all walks of life, genuinely willing to sit down and help us. Whatever it is, you can’t deny the sincerity and mana of everyone involved with Take2.”
Take2 is working to solve numerous issues within our justice system and tech sector. Aotearoa New Zealand continues to have one of the highest incarceration rates in the Western world. It costs on average $140,000 to house a prisoner for one year, with recidivism rates sitting at 61% after two years of release. There are around 15,000 prisoners released every year, with 80% unemployment among them after one year of release.
By working with the men, both before and after release, Take2 is not only addressing some confronting statistics, but is also increasing the available local talent for tech businesses in Aotearoa New Zealand. By growing diversity in the tech sector, the outcome is digital inclusion opportunities for a vulnerable population group.
Seeing the growth in the men and the pride they take not just in their work, but also in the culture they are developing in the class, has been very satisfying for Cameron.
“Observing the men challenge each other and hold one another accountable to the standards they all created for the classroom is extremely rewarding. We recently had a guest from a well-known Aotearoa New Zealand company. He was amazed at how much our students knew in such a short space of time. Not only that, but a few of our students were also more skilled than some of the graduates in their workplace,” says Cameron.
The success of Take2’s approach to teaching, and the way in which the men have embraced their learning, can be found in some comments made by the men themselves:
“Remember the floppy disc? Well that was the last time I had used a computer. I knew absolutely nothing about coding or computers. Take2 has taught me in a way that suits me. I like to learn by seeing things get done, or by watching videos, or I need to see examples or the answers first. [Take2] provided me with all of that and I work at my own pace. Repetition is the key for me – the more I was able to do something, the easier it became.”
“Learning isn’t a one-way road in Take2, it’s an open road between teachers and students that allow both to learn and grow together. This concept has profoundly accelerated my growth and development.”
So what does Cameron see for the future?
“Auckland South Corrections Facility would like to open a second classroom due to the initial success of the programme, so we’re working to make that happen. We’re also designing an internship programme with our industry employment partners, with support from J R McKenzie Trust funding. We’re also really looking forward to supporting our first graduates to succeed in the workplace.” says Cameron.
It’s clear that Take2 has the potential to be a mana-enhancing game-changer for those who are serving time in prisons, by disrupting their expected pathways and setting them up for lives filled with purpose and success.