Fifty-seven percent of deportees sent from Australia to Aotearoa have committed crimes since arriving: A 17 percent increase on three years ago.
Some of the deportees, sent to New Zealand under Section 501 of Australia's Migration Act, say it is the inevitable outcome of a system that makes it easy to associate with other offenders and "nearly impossible to turn your life around".
Data released to RNZ under the Official Information Act shows 2758 people have now been deported to the country since Australia introduced the policy in 2015.
In that time deportees from Australia have been linked to 14,365 offences, including 2854 of violence and nearly 3953 of 'dishonesty', which includes theft, burglary and fraud.
There had been 2917 traffic offences and 2154 instances of drugs and antisocial offending.
Makere Hutley arrived in New Zealand in 2016 after a stint in prison in Australia. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Makere Hutley conceded he had become part of those statistics, having arrived after a stint in prison in Australia in 2016.
Like many of the so-called '501s', he arrived with "no one here, no support", he said.
"What I found in my experience was I came back, I looked for the 501s that I knew from jail over there. They were back here, in addiction, doing crime. I didn't really relate to anybody else ... and so sooner or later I ended up in jail. I'd done what I could - I found myself a job, but I still didn't have anything around me, no people."
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Inside Mt Eden prison, he met dozens of other 501s in the same situation, he said.
"We just don't have anything catered that will really help us. There's little bits of support but ... it's already overloaded and we're not finding our place. I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle, to be honest."
Makere Hutley said he met dozens of other 501s in Mt Eden Prison who also found themselves with no support. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Corrections said arrivals who had been behind bars in Australia for more than a year were managed just like people exiting prisons here - meaning they were subject to supervision orders, and had to report to a probation officer.
In turn, they got what it called "reintegration support" including accommodation for up to six months and help getting clothes, food and work.
Regardless of how long people had been in jail in Australia, they would get help with "common needs" like obtaining an IRD number and opening a bank account, Corrections said.
Corrections also planned to pay $2 million in the next financial year to groups like the Prisoners Aid and Reintegration Society (PARS), the Salvation Army and Te Pā, so they could continue supporting deportees.
However 501 deportees and their families have told RNZ they struggled to find enough support.
One man who arrived a month ago, after several years in an Australian prison, recounted walking up Queen Street feeling unsure where to go, or who to contact.
The man said the accommodation offered by Corrections was a noisy hostel room, surrounded by people drinking and doing drugs - while he was trying to stay clean.
He did not know the name of the Ministry of Social Development, and said finding a job was tough without a New Zealand work history.
Fifty-seven percent of the deportees sent from Australia to New Zealand have committed crimes since arriving. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
A mother in Australia told RNZ she had endured a year of hell after her son was deported to New Zealand.
"He doesn't know how to look after himself, how to care for himself. He wouldn't engage with organisations because he doesn't know how."
The woman said her son was sexually abused by a priest in his Australian secondary school, then turned to violence.
His actions landed him behind bars and now she said he was estranged from all his friends and family, grappling with mental health issues in a country he had not visited since being a young child.
She conceded he had had "run-ins" with the New Zealand police.
"And that's hard as a parent. That's very hard as a parent. Our first instinct is to protect our child."
501s supporting each other's welfare: 'we're creating our own whānau'
Makere Hutley said he was worried about the reliance on not-for-profit groups like PARS - which had already gone "above and beyond" when he arrived in New Zealand.
Hutley would like to see the government invest in more long term "peer-led" support for arrivals like him, to provide a safe space for 501s to help one another get their lives on the right track.
Nick Robinson started a support network for 501 deportees because he was worried they were being largely left on their own. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
That is something Nick Robinson has been trying to create in Auckland.
He has started a support network for 501 deportees because he, too, was worried that arrivals were being left largely on their own.
"We've got a system over here that's at capacity ... organisations that are struggling to cater for New Zealanders here. Not much thought pattern has gone into being able to support 501s coming back.
"When people get off the plane they get a $200 chit to be able to find their own accommodation... or accommodation that's unsuitable. They're not in safe places and then they're having to fend for themselves," he said.
The group meets regularly for kai and korero and serves as a new family unit for the "lost guys" arriving in New Zealand, Robinson said.
"We've got the answers. We're creating our own whānau, our own hapū. Now we just want the support to be able to find winning formulas, safe spaces."
Police: small proportion of offenders causing significant harm
Despite the overall rise in re-offending, the police noted the proportion of deportees offending within a year of their arrival had actually decreased - from 40 percent in 2015 to 27 percent in 2020.
That put 501 deportees on par with the general re-offending rate for New Zealand prisoners - with 28 percent of them re-offending within a year in 2020.
It was only the overall, longer term re-offending that was going up for 501s - partly due to a cumulative effect.
In a statement, director international services group Superintendent Steve Dunn said many of those people were likely involved in less serious offending - but "there is a small proportion who are involved in serious violence and drug offending".
"This small proportion is almost certainly contributing to the New Zealand organised crime landscape, causing significant harm to our communities."
Police Minister Chris Hipkins said the government was "always looking closely" at the management of 501s.
"We've got a lot of work around supporting 501s when they arrive in New Zealand recognising that many of them are coming from fairly troubled backgrounds," he said.
"We have to recognise that in some cases, some of them already have established links here in New Zealand. For example other 501 deportees. That creates some challenges for us when they arrive in New Zealand."
The country's position on the 501 policy was very well known, he said.
"It's not a policy we support, but it is a policy we have to live with," he said.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the circumstances varied for each deportee coming into their country - some would be required to engage with agencies, and others would not.
However, there was one goal for everyone arriving, Ardern said.
"We want their integration to be as safe for them and us as possible."
Police said they were continuing to review their response to 501s, with a focus on trying to ease the transition back into New Zealand society and manage the risk to communities.