Download Corrections News June 2004 (pdf: 411KB)
Inside:
- Open days spark positive responses
- Integration project a boost for family violence prevention
- Kapa haka competition a success
- New corrections facilities moving ahead
Art brightens inmate yards
A series of vibrant, professional-quality murals now brighten Wellington Prison’s covered exercise yards, following an inmate competition to complete the work.
Two inmates spent up to 100 hours painting each section of the two-metre high mural, which runs for 80m around the inside of the yard.
One wall features a windy Wellington city-scape - complete with an offender escaping a police van - alongside a summery beach scene, and view of downtown Auckland.
A number of the murals and designs include Māori and other cultural themes, and reflect the backgrounds and passions of the prison inmates.
They were painted during constructive activity time, which is time set aside as part of each inmate’s individual sentence plan that typically involves sports, cultural and recreational activities.
Unit Manager Skip Woledge says that the two inmates who completed the murals won a design competition initiated by former site manager Chris Polaschek.
“It really changes the yards for the better and gets a bit of light in there,” said Skip. “It was done with water-based paints, and then sealed over.”
Between them, the two artists have years of engineering and professional painting experience - they even used some of their own commercial painting gear to complete the job.
“It was good to do something that made the exercise yards look better…They’ll be nicer to spend time in,” said one inmate.
Chief Executive's Comment
Budget outcome critical to future performance
The Budget announcements last month were notable for Corrections in that it was the second Budget to address capability and demand issues affecting the Department.
The 2003 Budget provided additional staffing for the Community Probation Service (CPS) over a period of several years and also provided funding to enhance CPS people development and training efforts. Money was also provided for the negotiation of the Department’s collective agreements.
The 2004 Budget provided a formal acknowledgement and response to the Department’s Output Pricing Review submission. This submission was vetted by the Treasury, the Ministry of Justice and Te Puni Kokiri.
Considerable effort over a long number of months went into the development of this submission. The efforts made in previous years to upgrade our business systems and the quality of financial and other management information proved to be invaluable and paid real dividends in terms of being able to support a number of our submissions including assessments of service delivery gaps.
The whole exercise entailed intensive analysis of much of our operational delivery functions and support activities. It involved a considerable commitment of people’s time.
The funding levels provided in the Budget will allow:
- more resources to be put into the development of our people, including managers
- the recruitment of more psychologists
- improved health services to inmates
- additional resources to improve access to information that informs our “at risk” assessment process for inmates
- more research and evaluation activity so we can look at more ways to enhance our effectiveness
- funding to sustain the maintenance and development of our information technology system, IOMS
- sufficient resources to allow us to continue to address property management and refurbishment demands across the whole Department.
All these elements are critical to us maintaining momentum, and the funding decisions of the last two years represent a considerable investment by the government in Corrections.
The work and contribution of the various Ministers of Corrections involved in achieving these results in each of the years is acknowledged with appreciation.
I feel sure that we are now well placed to move forward over the next several years and move in a way that provides the opportunity to both improve the quality of what we do and enable us to consolidate the gains made to date.
Additional money has also been provided to:
- pilot ways in which we could improve our efforts to reintegrate offenders back into the community and thus reduce re-offending;
- provide additional resources to Prisoners Aid and Rehabilitation Society, which has not received any price increase for their services for over a decade;
- add to our drug dog teams;
- recognise the contributions of volunteers and their work in prisons and hopefully strengthen their future involvement.
While the new spending overall involves some tens of millions of dollars, the size and nature of our organisation and the demands placed on us means that we will have to be very careful in our stewardship of these resources in order to get the full benefit from them. I know we can do that and am pleased that we are able to do so.
Consequent to the completion of the Output Pricing Review, a similarly intensive and protracted review was undertaken of the Regional Prisons Development Project and the optimal approach to the construction of the additional facilities. The levels of funding necessary were also addressed. This project will entail a capital investment of over $600 million over its life cycle, which should complete in 2007.
A huge commitment has been made to sustaining these two initiatives, which are critical to the Department’s future capacity and capability to perform effectively.
I want to thank all those who have contributed to these outcomes and the processes involved in achieving them. We can now look to the future with greater confidence and in the knowledge that we have been able to show that the taxpayer’s investment in the Department has been used efficiently and effectively.
Mark Byers
Chief Executive
Long serving prisons staff receive special honour
Twelve hundred years behind bars - a long stretch by even the toughest of standards - was recognised last month at a special ceremony attended by prisons staff and their families, and Minister of Corrections, Hon. Paul Swain.
The long service awards presentation, at North Harbour Stadium, marked the service provided by 74 staff from prisons in the Auckland area. Together these staff have notched up more than 1,200 years of looking after inmates.
Medals and clasps were presented by Mr Swain for completing 14, 21, 28 and 35 years’ service. Medals are presented for 14 years’ service, with clasps presented for each additional seven-year milestone.
Ten recipients were women, two of whom have each served 22 years, making them among the longest-serving female corrections officers in New Zealand.
Four staff members, including Auckland Prisons Regional Manager, Brendon Moynihan, received clasps for 35 years’ service. Two of these recipients commenced their careers as teenaged “prison officer cadets” in the late 1960s.
Friends and family attended the event, as did the mayor of North Shore City, George Wood, and armed forces representatives.
Mr Swain said the work of corrections officers has changed markedly over past decades, most notably in the past five to 10 years.
“Corrections officers are important role models for inmates, offering positive Long serving prisons staff receive special honour examples of social interaction,” he said in his address.
“All in all, they deserve a vote of thanks from the New Zealand public for the important, and often unseen, work they carry out.”
The Minister added that careers in Corrections are varied and challenging, and include specialised positions such as sentence planners, crime prevention officers, receiving officers and programme facilitators, to name just a few.
PECCS signing
Bob Calland, General Manager Corporate Management, and John Cleary, Managing Director of Chubb New Zealand Ltd, signed the Prisoner Escort and Courtroom Custodial Services (PECCS) contract recently. After a competitive tendering process, Chubb won the contract to provide escorting and custodial supervision services to inmates appearing in court. The contract covers the Northland and Auckland region only and commences on 1 July 2004 for five years.
Open Days spark positive responses
Wanganui and Ohura prisons both held open days recently, inviting local groups and media to see what life is really like “on the inside”.
Journalists from several media organisations attended Wanganui Prison’s first media open day. The journalists were welcomed into the prison by inmates from the Māori Focus Unit, then toured the site and new perimeter fence.
A look inside a cell, an explanation of the sentence management process and tours of the kitchen and self care units were features of the visit.
Mr Spock the drug dog was a particular highlight of the afternoon, explained Site Manager Tony Howe.
“Mr Spock carried out a vehicle search and also did a thorough scan of a kitchen unit, correctly finding samples of contraband we planted. The visitors were very impressed with how effective he was.
Corrections Officer Mark Apiti shows visitors the control room at Ohura Prison. “We received a lot of positive feedback from the journalists. I think they were surprised to discover it’s nothing like they see in the media!”
Ohura Prison’s open day had a community focus with representatives from several local organisations attending.
Over 30 people from St John’s Ambulance, Police, Victim Support, Rotary, staff families and local kaumatua toured the prison site. Points of interest included a look at the dining room, guard room, receiving office and a typical cell. Visitors learned how the Department manages offenders and about the prison’s inmate employment beekeeping operation. The Community Probation Service also attended the day, explaining home detention to the visitors.
Mr Spock made an appearance at Ohura Prison’s big day as well, again demonstrating his contraband-sniffing skills to the visitors. “I’m really proud of how our staff presented the site. Visitors commented extensively on the professionalism of all the staff involved,” says Peter Madsen, Site Manager, Ohura Prison.
Funding increase to target reintegration
The Minister of Corrections, Hon. Paul Swain, hosted a community forum recently in Wellington on reintegrative services for offenders, announcing an increase in government funding for these important services.
Mr Swain talked about the government’s three-part approach to reduce re-offending, which focuses on early intervention, offender rehabilitation and reintegrative services.
From July 2004 reintegrative services will receive an extra $1.25 million, rising to $1.4 million from July 2005.
Reintegrative services assist offenders with the transition back into the community in areas such as accommodation, employment, finances, relationship issues and healthcare. They also address similar needs while the offender is on a communitybased sentence. Providing offenders with reintegrative support and services is essential to help ensure they remain offence-free in the community.
Seventy people representing a wide range of community providers, voluntary groups and government agencies attended the forum.
They considered issues relating to reintegration and provided input into options to improve services.
“We can lead the world in offender reintegration with your input, your willingness to work alongside Government agencies, and the typical can-do attitude that New Zealanders have,” said Mr Swain in his address to the forum.
Attendees participated in workshops and case studies on key topics such as reintegrating high risk sex offenders, youth, women and how services should be best coordinated.
“It was a rare opportunity to bring together a range of people with an interest in this issue, and for the Department to receive positive input into the current review of reintegrative services,” says Richard Bargh, Manager Policy and Development.
John Whitty, National Director of New Zealand Prisoners Aid and Rehabilitation Society, told the forum about difficulties offenders face when they return to community life and the challenge for those people trying to help them meet their needs.
Mr Whitty said the forum and the announcement of increased funding are important milestones.
“I hope the enthusiasm and ideas generated will flow into some practical initiatives. It would be good to have another forum in the future to review progress,” he said.
New research on predicting sex offending presented
The Australian and New Zealand Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers held its annual conference recently in Auckland. More than 400 professionals working in the area of sexual abuse attended, including Psychological Service staff from the Department’s Te Piriti and Kia Marama special treatment units for men who have sexually offended against children.
David Riley and Alex Skelton from the Psychological Service presented a paper on risk assessment of sex offenders.
“Traditional approaches to risk assessment don’t work particularly well for sex offenders,” says David.
“The reason for that is quite straightforward. The best predictors of future behaviour are what a person has done in the past. Sex offending is extremely ‘specialised’, and correlates with future sex offending far more strongly than with other types of criminal behaviour.”
David and Alex used a sex offender risk scale, Static 99, which was developed and validated in Canada and the United Kingdom.
They modified it so that it could be electronically scored using criminal history and other basic information held on offenders by the Department.
“When this scale was applied to people serving sentences for a sexual offence, the tool enabled them to be placed in one of four risk categories,” says David.
“When these individuals were followed up for extended periods of time this process accurately predicted further sexual offending. The results show markedly different rates of sexual re-offending for the four categories of risk.
“Over the twelve year period of the follow up, many more individuals in the high risk category committed a sexual offence than offenders in the other three categories, and the risk category to which a person was assigned was clearly indicative of the level of risk that they posed.
David says these results indicate it is possible to accurately forecast the level of risk posed by any individual offender, and this can guide decisions about who should be targeted for treatment.
“Risk measures such as these are also very helpful when making decisions about parole and the level of restrictions that should be placed on an offender when they are released into the community.
“Being able to predict risk of sexual reoffending more accurately also allows for greater confidence to be placed on the results of evaluations of programmes that treat sexual offenders.”
Online legal information resource
Lawaccess, an online catalogue of law-related information, was launched by the Minister of Justice, Hon. Phil Goff, at the Legal Services Agency Wellington office in April.
LawAccess is an information gateway to the extensive lawrelated resources of over 130 New Zealand organisations.
The website was developed as part of the Legal Services Agency’s strategy to improve access to justice and law-related information.
The agency aims to support community service providers and members of the public by providing this online central index to help people meet their legal needs. The Department of Corrections is a contributor to the website.
Information that can be accessed via the website covers a wide range of topics and includes rights and responsibilities under specific laws.
You can visit LawAccess at www.lawaccess.lsa.govt.nz
New Zealand has some of the best outcomes in the world for treatment for sex offenders, whether prisonbased or in the community.
Follow-up studies of Corrections’ special treatment units for men who sexually offend against children - Te Piriti at Auckland Prison and Kia Marama at Rolleston Prison - show their treatment is very successful.
Community-based treatment options such as those provided via SAFE and STOP have also been proved effective.
However, those who sexually abuse children have to first be confronted or reported in order for them to get the help they need. Although there is no clearly identifiable set of symptoms that can be caused only by sexual abuse, there are some things that are worth looking out for.
Corrections News takes a look at what parents and caregivers can do, and be aware of, to help keep children safe.
Sexual offending against children - combating a hidden problem
The New Zealand situation
Sexual abuse of children is a very serious form of offending, as the victims are particularly vulnerable, and the effects on them often severe and long-lasting.
As part of the Christchurch Health and Development Study (Christchurch School of Medicine), researchers examined the impact of reported childhood sexual abuse by adults prior to age 16 in a sample of 1,019 18-year olds 1.
Ninety percent reported no childhood sexual abuse, two percent reported non-contact abuse, five percent reported sexual contact not involving intercourse, and four percent reported abuse involving intercourse (percentages rounded to the nearest whole number).
Approximately 227 individuals (mostly men) are sentenced to prison each year in New Zealand for sexual offences against children.
Beware of stereotypes
The most common stereotype of the paedophile as a “dirty old man” can actually put children at risk, says Bronwyn Rutherford, Principal Psychologist at Kia Marama.
“When people believe that stereotype, they risk disregarding inappropriate or sexualised behaviour by people outside that stereotype, such as businessmen and sportsmen.
“People who sexually abuse children come from all socio-economic and cultural groups - they could even come from your family or neighbourhood, and be a liked and respected person.”
Believe what you see, she urges. Bronwyn likewise cautions against believing other distortions, such as attributing blame to victims.
“We may think things like ‘she shouldn’t have had make-up on’ or ‘he was acting sexually around him’. Many child sex abusers blame their actions on their victims’ behaviour, and can be extremely convincing.
“If we collude with these ideas, we are colluding with the abuser rather than protecting a child. Even if a child is acting inappropriately, this does not cause abuse.
“We must remember what the laws of our society reflect: that adults are responsible for children, including managing children’s behaviour.
She uses a road safety analogy to illustrate her point.
“If a child ran out on to the road, as adults we would see the risk and stop the child, perhaps even approach the child’s caregiver to warn of the danger. The same should be true for risk behaviour for abuse: to take appropriate action - in this case, by teaching the child that his or her behaviour is not appropriate. If we do nothing, the child remains at risk of being targeted by sexual abusers, who prey on children’s vulnerabilities.”
Observe unusual behaviour changes
If you notice a lot of change in your child’s behaviour, says Bronwyn, take the time to find out what may be causing the change.
“The changes might not be due to sexual abuse, but asking about what is causing change could help the child, whatever the cause.”
Changes might include sexually explicit behaviour. Sexual behaviour in children is usually learned, and can indicate that a child is being sexually abused, or being influenced or abused by another child who has experienced early sexualisation (most commonly caused by abuse).
Note “grooming” behaviour Sexual abusers of children often “groom” the parents/caregivers of the child, in order to gain their trust and access to the child.
This trust may be gained by being very helpful and (apparently) kind - for example, helping with financial problems, offering to baby-sit or do chores. Parents and caregivers of children who have been groomed can be at risk of missing the cues that a child is being abused, and may even disbelieve a child’s claims of abuse.
The child, too, is often groomed for sexual abuse, with the abuser treating the child as “special”, perhaps by buying him or her presents, or taking the child on trips.
Attention to the child may also involve separating the child from its caregivers and other children, by taking the child on outings or excluding the other children from interactions and treats.
Overcome embarrassment and complacency
Even when an adult’s inappropriate behaviour is recognised, the issue may not be raised due to embarrassment.
“Although society has come a long way, we are still taught to avoid explicit discussion of anything sexual in social, and even family, settings,” says Bronwyn.
“It is important to be able to act on your observations to protect children. Overcoming embarrassment or fear about asking someone about his behaviour, may be necessary.
“It’s easy to think that ‘someone else will do something about it’ or that ‘it’s the parent’s responsibility’. Such ideas are the source of complacency and may put children more at risk.”
The above characteristics are not “evidence” of sexual abuse. But they may indicate the possibility of risk, and are therefore worth being aware of.
WHAT’S NEW IN THE LITERATURE
The role of staff practice in effective correctional treatment
Over the last 15 years a great deal of research has been carried out to determine what constitutes effective correctional treatment. Numerous studies and reviews of studies have reaffirmed the principles of risk, need, and general responsivity as the cornerstones of an effective programme.
Perhaps surprisingly, much less effort has been invested in determining what staff practices and qualities contribute to enhancing the effectiveness of programmes that conform to the above principles of effective correctional programming.
In a recent meta-analytic investigation, Dowden and Andrews (2004) seek to shed light on this area2. As a starting point, the authors took five dimensions of effective correctional practice that were first identified by Don Andrews a quarter of a century ago. These dimensions derive from the social learning theory of criminal behaviour and were designed to reflect the most effective and evidence-based interventive strategies for promoting behaviour change with offenders. The dimensions are: effective use of authority, attitudinal modelling and reinforcement, problem-solving, use of community resources, and quality of interpersonal relationships between staff and client.
The methodology of the current study involved recoding earlier studies, with respect to the presence or absence of several indicators of those dimensions. Their relationship to positive treatment effects was then determined.
Over all the studies, there was a strong positive correlation with a favourable outcome measured by reduced recidivism. In other words, the greater the number of indicators of the dimensions in the study, the greater the reduction in re-offending. Additionally, most individual elements, with the exception of advocacy/brokerage and effective disapproval, were also significantly correlated with outcome.
Further analysis showed that interventions utilising these principles of effectiveness enhanced outcomes over and above those already found when higher-risk cases were treated (for programmes that predominantly targeted criminogenic needs and for clinically appropriate interventions). In other words, compliance with effective staff practice increased treatment effectiveness beyond that derived from merely applying the established principles of risk, need and responsivity. Moreover, even in situations where treatment is intensive, offenders spend most of their time outside of the programme. The quality of their interactions with non programme staff, and the degree to which they model prosocial behaviour and support the programme goals is clearly critical to the aim of reducing re-offending.
These results highlight to us the importance of the way in which the people delivering programmes actually perform that role. It is not only our programme and our business rules, but also the people who can bring about change in offender behaviour.
Offender teaches journalists about justice
“Oliver” is a 25 year-old drug addict with a criminal history as long as your arm. He knows the process backwards when it comes to dealing with Police, lawyers, courts and prisons. He is also a ‘spokesperson’ who helps educate student journalists on which agency does what within the Justice sector.
“A lot of confusion exists in the media about the roles of the various Justice sector agencies,” says Corrections Communications Manager, Zelda MacKenzie.
“Journalists ring up Corrections wanting sentencing information when they should be speaking to Courts, or asking if an escaped inmate has been caught - that’s Police. By going out there and speaking to student journalists we’re hoping to start their media careers with a better understanding of the Justice sector.”
The four Justice sector agencies - Department for Courts (which merged with the Ministry of Justice in October last year), Department of Corrections, Child Youth and Family, and the Police - participate directly or indirectly in the training sessions. The Legal Services Agency also provides input.
“We use an actor to play the part of Oliver. He talks through his journey, starting with his arrest by Police and ending up with us at Corrections,” says Zelda.
Feedback from journalism schools has been positive. Students from Canterbury Polytechnic said the course enabled them to understand the process from “arrest to parole”. All of the participating schools wish to make the training session an annual event.
“This is really an effective and fun way of helping budding journalists to understand how the agencies are linked. It’s better than deluging them with screeds of paper they may never read,” says Zelda.
The presentations have been held at journalism schools in Auckland, Canterbury and Waikato. Given the enthusiastic response, the Justice sector is looking to include smaller training institutions like Timaru and New Plymouth in the future.
Integration project a boost for family violence prevention
The Department of Corrections is one of five government agencies joining forces to improve links with family violence prevention services.
Until now, service providers dealt separately with each of the main funders - Department of Corrections, Department of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Child, Youth and Family, and Accident Compensation Corporation.
Now, instead of duplicating approval, monitoring and audit processes, the five agencies have agreed to a new approach known as the Family Violence Funding Circuit Breaker.
A series of training workshops have begun for regional teams, made up of representatives from the agencies involved.
Community Probation Service (CPS) Rotorua Service Manager Raema Mackay, who chairs the Bay of Plenty regional team, says she’s optimistic about efforts to simplify the funding process for community providers.
“The only way it’s going to be done is through this type of initiative.”
CPS Service Analyst Kim Webster, was involved in development of the national implementation plan to introduce the Circuit Breaker approach nationwide. Kim says the collaboration doesn’t mean that agencies will be pooling funding or have the mandate to decide on allocation, but it will allow for better information sharing around provider and community needs.
The regional teams will work with other agencies to establish the total amount of funding for family violence prevention in their region, share this information with service providers, and discuss regional needs and priorities.
By working closely together the funders and providers can maximise the funding pool and invest in provider sustainability and capacity.
Farewell to Maria McDonald
The Chief Executive Mark Byers, farewells Maria McDonald, Manager Māori and Pacific Policy. After 10 years’ service Maria recently left the Department to become national coordinator of Presbyterian Support Services New Zealand (PSSNZ). Maria started with Corrections as a probation officer; and subsequent roles included service centre manager, implementing the Integrated Offender Management System, and a secondment to the Minister’s office as private secretary. Jared Mullen, General Manager Policy Development, says “Maria has been a valuable member of my management team, and was instrumental in producing the Māori Strategic Plan and managing the implementation of the Pacific Strategy. Maria’s tireless championing of the Specialist Māori Cultural Assessment and Cultural Supervision projects was also appreciated. She will be missed and we wish her well at PSSNZ.”
Public asked to consider a career in crime
A recruitment campaign to attract over 200 new staff to the Public Prisons Service (PPS) was launched in May. Comprising national press, radio and Internet advertising, the campaign built on the ongoing efforts of the regional PPS recruitment teams.
Most positions are for corrections officers, with a variety of non-custodial roles also available, including nurses, health and safety officers and administrative staff.
“Inmate numbers have been increasing for some time and additional staff are required to manage these higher numbers,” says Catherine Hall, Assistant General Manager PPS.
“We also need extra staff because we are managing areas like health and safety, health services, and at-risk assessment differently.”
Advertising has been successful, with over 1,000 applications packs sent out in the first two weeks of the campaign.
The advertising showcases the experience of actual prison staff and uses their words to describe their roles. The campaign intends to be thought-provoking, with a human and candid approach.
It also seeks to challenge prison stereotypes by showing the people who work in prisons and the wide range of careers available.
Recruitment efforts will be ongoing, with 1,500 new staff needed over the next three years, especially as the four new regional corrections facilities are built. Recruitment for the first of the new prisons expected to open, the Northland Regional Corrections Facility, takes place from September. For an application pack phone 0800 701 701.
Mt Eden Prison industries on the move
Two industry employment training operations at Mt Eden Prison are moving to new homes at other prisons.
In recent times, the number of remand inmates housed at Mt Eden has significantly increased. This means fewer inmates are available for work placement because remand offenders are not typically involved in employment unless they are in custody longer than seven weeks.
Corrections Inmate Employment (CIE) Sector Manager, Win McDonald, says shifting some of Mt Eden Prison’s industries to other prisons will maximise the opportunity for sentenced inmates to take part in employment training.
Win confirmed that Mt Eden’s textile operation will move to Waikeria Prison’s Nikau Unit and the light assembly operation will move to Auckland Prison. The Nikau Unit is a temporary unit for women, completely separate from the men’s accommodation.
The Uniform Store (known as Prime Industries), supplying corrections officers’ shirts, pants, shoes and other uniform items, will continue at Mt Eden Prison.
CIE Principal Instructor, Alan Nicholson, who has been coordinating the move says the Department’s Assets and Property group “moved heaven and earth” to have the new premises at Auckland Prison ready in time for the light assembly operation.
Manufacturing at the light assembly operation started in late May, following a building dedication ceremony and a blessing by local kaumatua in front of invited guests and staff.
Segregated inmates from Auckland Prison will be the first to benefit from the move, says Win.
“Most employment options are for mainstream inmates. Inmates on a segregation regime usually don’t have as much chance to get involved in employment training because their management means they only interact with other segregated inmates.
“Public Prisons staff have also been really helpful in getting ready for the move. They support the move because it provides work skills to a group of inmates at Auckland Prison who haven’t previously been involved in employment training programmes,” says Win.
CPS staff take the driver’s seat
Community Probation Service (CPS) staff with driving responsibilities have lately been getting some “hands on” training to keep their driving skills honed.
The training is being introduced for CPS staff who drive as part of their work duties, such as work party supervisors and home detention probation officers.
CPS staff from Wellington and Wairarapa met recently at Manfeild Park racetrack, near Feilding, for a day’s training with tutors from Holden Advanced Driver Training.
The firm’s managing director, Stuart Roddick, says the training is specifically designed for adults who are already experienced drivers.
“Staff who attend our specialist driver training derive dramatic safety benefits, and the organisation can achieve both Occupational Safety and Health compliance and substantial ongoing cost savings.”
Initially somewhat daunted by the venue, staff were soon able to put the theory skills they had learned into practice.
Work party supervisors put their large vans through their paces around the course, practising skills to keep driver and passengers safe in an emergency.
Driving safely is particularly important for these staff members, says Area Support Services Manager, Janeen Brown. Work party supervisors routinely transport up to 10 offenders at a time to and from Community Work projects.
While the accident rate isn’t high, the training means staff are well-equipped to deal with different driving conditions and scenarios that might arise, she says. Probation Officer, Shaun McGillicuddy, says getting behind the wheel is now totally different.
“I noticed how much my driving had changed. The course just smoothed everything out. I felt more relaxed. Just simple things like adjusting the positioning of my feet has helped my driving.”
His advice to other staff offered the course is to go for it. “I reckon we all need it - no matter how many years you’ve been driving.”
Kapa haka competition a success
Waikeria Prison’s fourth annual kapa haka competition for inmates, held in May, took a new turn this year with the women’s unit, Nikau, joining for the first time to compete for the Mangatutu Cup.
Groups of inmates from all the prison’s units, including the Māori Focus Unit (MFU), performed a haka to the judges, who were comprised of representatives from Te Wananga o Aotearoa, prison kaumatua and staff.
The Nikau Unit started the competition with a demonstration of waiata and haka. “Seeing the passion and aroha in the women’s performance showed us what huge competition the men have now. There was a lot of pride in that performance,” says Te Wananga Tutor Pura Tangira.
The performances of each group were judged in seven categories including leadership, vocal expression and stage presence.
“These performances inspire the inmates to want to learn more about themselves, their self-worth and to take pride in achievement. “I see a lot of reason for these men and women to be proud of what they have achieved with team work and motivation,” says Pura.
The Nikau Unit group won the title for best costume and presentation. The Te Ao Marama team (MFU) took five titles and the Mangatutu Cup. The women’s unit was also presented with a special taonga to celebrate their first year taking part in the competition.
“The atmosphere was amazing. Every team showed incredible passion and power in their performances. A lot of hard work has taken place for them to get this far,” said competition director and Karaka Unit Manager Graham Dallas.
The judges responded to the performances with their own impressive haka and waiata performance, before sharing a hangi lunch. The Mangatutu Cup competition aims to strengthen inmates’ links with wairua, tikanga and kawa (life force and spirit, customs and protocols), and also incorporates Pacific cultural values, beliefs and principles.
“The day was made an even bigger success with the Nikau team taking part. It was very enjoyable for all involved,” said Graham.
Site managers network together
New Zealand’s 18 public prisons’ site managers might be a small group, but they are responsible for managing around 2,700 staff and the care of more than 6,000 inmates.
For the first time in several years, all site managers gathered together last month in Wellington. Assistant General Manager Operations Ian Taylor, says the two-day meeting was a valuable opportunity to discuss issues that affect the management of prisons in a face-to-face forum.
“Sessions covered topics such as corrections law reform, improvements to procedures and systems, health and safety matters, HR issues, risk management and an update on new prisons. The question and answer sessions were also useful, as managers who had experienced similar issues could help problem solve for each other.
“The Chief Executive, Public Prisons Service (PPS) senior managers and members of the PPS operations team all made presentations to the group.”
Ian says based on the positive comments from the meeting regular meetings of the group will be planned.
New corrections facilities moving ahead
Progress continues towards four new corrections facilities planned to open between 2005 and 2007. Following is a brief update on each of the projects.
Otago
A new prison to replace the small and outdated Dunedin Prison has passed a milestone in its development. In late May Corrections Minister Hon. Paul Swain accepted the recommendation of the Clutha District Council’s independent commissioners to designate the Milburn site for a prison. Individuals or groups who made a submission on the designation application, and/or the Clutha District Council, can appeal the Minister’s decision to the Environment Court if they choose.
Auckland
In April the Environment Court delivered a judgement in favour of the new Auckland women’s prison, which will replace Mount Eden Women’s Prison. Although this decision has been appealed to the High Court, the Department hopes the muchneeded women’s facility will open in 2006.
Spring Hill
The Environment Court hearings into matters related to the proposed 650-bed Spring Hill Corrections Facility concluded in May, and Corrections is currently awaiting a decision. The process to select the preferred earthworks partner has started, however all planning is subject to the Environment Court’s decision.
Northland
Construction of the 350-bed Northland prison near Kaikohe is full steam ahead and on schedule for completion early next year.
1 Ferguson, D.M, Horwood, J., and Lynskey, M.T. (1996). Childhood sexual abuse and psychiatric disorder in young adulthood: II. Psychiatric outcomes of childhood sexual abuse. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 34, 10, 1365-1374.
2 Dowden C., and Andrews D.A. (2004). The importance of staff practice in delivering effective correctional treatment: A meta-analytic review of correctional practice, International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 48 numbers, PP203-214.