Te Puna Haumaru

New Zealand Institute for
Security and Crime Science

Te Puna Haumaru New Zealand Institute for Security and Crime Science (NZISCS) was established at the University of Waikato in 2017. The University is the primary research partner for the New Zealand Police. 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 principle 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.

The Karakia/Tauparapara is:

Piki ake! Kake ake! Te Puna Haumaru
He kawa nō Tāwhaki
Ki te angiangi pū!
He tai e
- ka ripiripia te tai
He tai e
- ka whatiwhatia te tai
He tai ea!
Me taiea!
Tūturu ō whiti
Whakamaua kia tina!
Tinā
Hui e!
TAIKI E!

Rise up, Soar forth Te Puna Haumaru!!
With Tāwhaki’s protocols
Into the unencumbered
Whatever the tides may bring
- However fierce they may be
Whatever the tides may bring
- However brutal
Rise above them!
With distinction!
Your goals, your aspirations are true!
Hold fast to them!
Make them real!
All together!
Let it be!

From 2020 Te Puna Haumaru NZISCS delivered undergraduate papers in Security and Crime Science topics, which was the first teaching of its kind in New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific region. In 2023, postgraduate papers were launched.