Over 200 Waitakere offenders and ex-prisoners are on the straight and narrow with the help of a specialised driving programme.
The driving programme is aimed at helping young people off the pathway to prison and a life of crime by giving them a second chance.
Over 80 per cent of all entry level jobs these days require a drivers' licence - and 65 per cent of Maori offenders have a driving offence as part of their initial jail sentence and five per cent of jail sentences are just for driving without a licence, says NZ Howard League for Penal Reform chief executive Mike Williams.
"We create safer, legal drivers, we help keep them out of jail and we make them employable; getting them off benefits and saving tax payer money that could well be spent on better things," Mr Williams said.
"We believe that in terms of bang for buck a New Zealand wide programme should be a high priority for government spending."
The programme is celebrating, on Friday, its second year of running.
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