Community Work is a community-based sentence which requires offenders to do unpaid work in the community to make reparation for the offence(s) they have committed.
The sentence gives offenders an opportunity to take responsibility for their actions and learn new skills and work habits.
Each year offenders on Community Work provide at least two million hours of free labour to their local communities. This year we expect 34,000 new sentences of Community Work to commence. The average number of sentences on any given day is around 22,762.
Offenders can be sentenced to up to 200 hours to be completed in 12 months, or up to 400 hours to be completed in 24 months.
Offenders must complete 100 hours every 6 months.
Suitable projects for Community Workers include those sponsored by local councils, government agencies, voluntary organisations, marae organisations, sports groups and other community groups.
Where possible, depending on the projects available, staff try to match the tasks undertaken by the offender with their skills and capabilities or to directly repair damage caused by their offending.
An offender with artistic skills may be allocated a mural project if it's available, while an offender who has been sentenced for tagging may be tasked with cleaning graffiti in a local park.
The wide variety of tasks that can be considered for Community Work assistance is reflected in the stories contained within this publication.
Many organisations rely on dedicated volunteers to complete projects that will benefit their local community.
The Community Work sentence can provide people and resources to help such organisations achieve their goals faster.
Community work can be provided almost anywhere within a community from parks and reserves to schools, marae and churches. It can involve painting, gardening, building, graffiti cleaning, restoration and recycling just to name a few.
Community Work sentences are managed by Corrections' Community Probation & Psychological Services (CPPS) which has around 150 sites across the country.
Organisations that successfully apply for Community Work assistance have the choice of using one or more work parties of offenders supervised by a Community Work Superviser provided by CPPS, or may instead have a suitable individual assigned to help them who the organisation itself supervises.
The Department of Corrections is always interested in considering new projects to ensure the whole community can benefit from this valuable resource.
If you are aware of other organisations that could use this assistance or you would like to expand your own organisation's involvement, please visit http://www.corrections.govt.nz/public/communityassistance/ for more information.
Got a good story for Community Works or want to request the print edition
Email commdesk@corrections.govt.nz or phone (04) 460 3365
Got a story for Community Works or want to request the print edition?
Email commdesk@corrections.govt.nz or phone (04) 460 3365.
Community Works is published quarterly by the Department of Corrections. Contact details for Community Probation & Psychological Services can be found here or by looking under C for Corrections in the Government listings of the Telecom White Pages.
ISSN 1178-1327