Home Detention Orders

A Home Detention Order lets an offender serve part of their prison sentence at an approved address, under electronic monitoring and close supervision by a probation officer. Orders may be granted by the New Zealand Parole Board to eligible offenders. Orders are different to the new home detention sentence, which can be imposed by judges in court.

What is the purpose?

Home Detention Orders aim to improve reintegration and protect the public. They can help offenders to:

• maintain family relationships
• keep working or actively seek work
• attend training or rehabilitative programmes.

Who is eligible?

To be eligible for a Home Detention Order, offenders must have been sentenced to not longer than two years’ imprisonment before 1 October, 2007 and granted leave at sentencing to apply for home detention.  People serving sentences of more than two years’ imprisonment were previously eligible to apply for a Home Detention Order. Now, these offenders instead may be considered for release on parole with residential restrictions which is similar to home detention.

The application process

Once an offender applies for home detention, Community Probation & Psychological Services (CPPS) prepare a report for the Parole Board that examines:

• the offender’s risk to the public
• their motivation to change
• their risk of re-offending
• the suitability of the proposed home detention address.

The probation officer also:

• checks any proposed work and rehabilitation programmes for the offender
• tells people sharing the address about the offender’s criminal convictions and seeks their consent to the offender being on home detention there.

Monitoring offenders

Offenders on home detention must wear an electronic anklet to monitor their whereabouts at all times. If the offender tries to remove the anklet or leaves the monitored property without permission an alarm is triggered and a security guard is sent to the address.

Home detention offenders can work outside the approved address but only if authorised by their probation officer. Offenders can also apply for approved absences such as employment, rehabilitation, study, or health care. These absences are also monitored.

If there’s a breach

If the offender fails to comply their probation officer may charge them in court with breaching home detention, or ask the Parole Board to have the offender recalled to prison.