The Valley: Crime and Punishment in a New Zealand City is a new work of narrative non-fiction about the New Zealand criminal justice system. It follows three men — two facing criminal charges, and their legal aid lawyer — through the New Zealand courts and prison, hospital, rehab, boarding houses and welfare offices.
Set in late 2020, The Valley draws on over two years of fieldwork: court hearings, prison visits and hundreds of hours of recorded interviews. Told largely in verbatim dialogue, it traces the collision between the justice system and the wider landscape of housing insecurity, mental health, addiction and economic hardship.
This is Asher Emanuel’s debut book. As he writes, the stories at the heart of The Valley ‘are not the stories of crime and punishment that make headlines. But they are essential to understanding the reality of the criminal justice system in New Zealand as well as how it might one day be different.’
This up-close and personal account brings the realities of the New Zealand criminal justice system to life through the voices of those who experience it first-hand.
The Valley can be purchased at any good bookshop or through our website.