Te Puna Haumaru | New Zealand Institute for Security and Crime Science

Te Puna Haumaru New Zealand Institute for Security and Crime Science was established at the University of Waikato in 2017. The University is one of the three founding members of the NZ Evidence Based Policing Centre, along with New Zealand Police and ESR.

Our research aims to reduce crime and increase security through multi-disciplinary, evidence-based research.

Our Māori name was gifted to us by Professor Tom Roa, who was a founding member of our Steering Group. His use of ‘puna’ is, as a noun, that of a spring, a well, or a fountain; and as a verb, to well up, to flow. The principal concept in ‘Haumaru’ is that of safety. We therefore see the Institute as a wellspring of sanctuary, through which flows the promotion, with appropriate support systems, of a safe and secure environment.