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The thirst for information is almost unquenchable and strong disciplines have to be put in place to ensure only information that is useful is collected and the information we seek to manage is central to what we do, or would like to do. The development of the Integrated Offender Management System (IOMS) has gone through a series of major phases since the Department was established. The first phase involved the installation of the basic operating systems. These were subsequently enhanced during the second phase so as to support changes to our processes for offender management. And lastly the system had to be developed to support the implementation of the Sentencing and Parole legislation. All these stages were achieved on time and within budget.
What was deferred until more recent times because of these major developments were some system enhancements and other improvements in functionality. But as the need for major change recedes, more resources are being applied on a step-by-step basis to make these incremental and evolutionary improvements.
The IOMS is now a critical part of the life support system for the Department and is one of the best of such systems in corrections jurisdictions in the world. Indeed I don’t know of any other jurisdictions that have a system with the functionality of ours, that spans prisons and probation, and which also supports an integrated approach to how offenders are assessed and managed.
There is an irreversible trend toward more evidencebased approaches to the development of operational processes and policy formation, including looking at ways we can enhance our effectiveness in reducing re-offending. Of course such advances are often dependent in part on the quality of the data available and I believe this facet will become increasingly better across the whole of the sector, as other agencies’ system developments come into play.
More and more the tasks of managers will be reliant on being able to access information, being able to understand it and to make judgements about the discharge of their responsibilities on the basis of what it shows. However, this will never remove the people element, but may better inform it. We are a people based organisation - and will remain so - and we deal with large volumes of people. The quality of those relationships and personal interactions are vitally important to the way we accomplish our tasks and our effectiveness, and no information system can substitute for those human needs.
We now have in place a knowledge strategy which is aimed at improving the ways in which we manage and use information, as well as making more information available. We are also growing more data warehouse capability with the Corrections Analysis and Reporting System (CARS), which will provide us with better access to the information in IOMS and enable it to be better used and collated for analytical purposes.
The strategy for the future direction of IOMS will be decided on in coming months and I am sure it will involve a continuation of the trend to become a better informed and more information based organisation. We have made huge strides over the years and are now on the verge of a significant leap forward in terms of quality. There is much to be proud of in having reached this point and I am sure the new strategy will continue to place us up with the leading corrections organisations in the world.
This success is the result of the efforts of many Corrections staff in learning new skills and new ways of doing things. I thank you all for your contribution and feel sure that more benefits will result from those efforts.
The chance to look past the wire and into the heart of Wanganui Prison saw around 50 people brave the elements and attend the Prison’s recent open day for Community Probation Service (CPS) employees and family members of prison staff.
Those who attended found out about the working day of those closest to them. CPS employees had the opportunity to go beyond the interview rooms they usually visit and see other parts of the prison.
“To get that many people on a night with such awful weather was a great success,” says Site Manager Tony Howe.
“Families often have little idea about the environment their parents or partners work in day to day,” he says.
“Both groups of people took the chance to have a good look around and gain a better understanding of what it is like in here.” Visitors saw drug dog Jess in action when she identified drugs planted by her handler Richard White.
A tour of the 80-bed Southwood unit and a self-care unit was also given. There are four open days a year at Wanganui Prison, each for a different group of stakeholders.
Three senior Māori managers have recently joined the Māori Managers Team, known as the M Team, which brings together senior Māori managers from all the groups and services.
“Improving responsiveness to Māori is a core commitment in the Department’s Statement of Intent,” says Charlie Tawhiao, Manager Treaty Relationships and member of the M Team.
“In the M Team we work collaboratively to better integrate efforts across the organisation to support the implementation of the Māori Strategic Plan.”
The new members of the M Team joining Charlie are Manager Māori and Pacific Policy Dave Samuels, National Adviser Māori Service Development (NAMSD) for the Public Prisons Service (PPS) Danny Hauraki, and NAMSD for Probation and Offender Services Lawrence Tawera.
Dave has recently been appointed Manager Māori and Pacific Policy in the Policy Development group.
“For me, the decision to come to Corrections was driven by the vision and commitment demonstrated by the Māori Strategic Plan and kaupapa statement,” says Dave.
“I am honoured to be part of the team and am keen to make a positive contribution to the important work being done here.” Danny was appointed to the NAMSD role with PPS earlier this year. Previously he was a service centre manager with the Community Probation Service (CPS) and spent a period seconded to the Treaty Relations Team, working on the Northland Region Corrections Facility project.
Danny says he sees the M Team as a valuable resource, modelling the integration of the groups and services.
“Each group and service has unique challenges, but a common goal. The M Team allows these differences to be communicated and handled positively, while continuing to work towards our common goal of increased responsiveness to Māori.”
Lawrence has worked in various field roles within CPS, was a member of the National CPS Integrated Offender Management Project Team, and more recently the Operational Policy and Planning team for CPS at head office.
He was recently appointed to the NAMSD role for a period of 12 months.
“I am really excited about making a difference and playing my part in helping to reduce re-offending among Māori,” says Lawrence.
“Kotahi ano te kaupapa;
ko te oranga o te iwi -
there is only one purpose
(to our work); it is the wellness
and well-being of the people.”
Guest speakers Mike and Doug Tamaki provided inspiration and motivation for inmates at Waikeria Prison Karaka Addiction Treatment Unit’s graduation ceremony held recently.
In true Tamaki style the brothers arrived on Harley Davidson motorbikes, and told the inmates how attitude is everything to becoming a success.
“There are two people in life, those who exist and those who live. Here is an opportunity to really live and change your own life,” said Doug.
The ceremony takes place every eight weeks and marks the graduation of inmates who have worked through the intensive six month addiction treatment programme.
The six recent graduates gave a presentation about their journey through the programme, the tremendous support received from staff and their hopes for the future.
Other inmates received certificates for moving through phases of the 12 step course. “The main goal of the graduation is recognising the inmates’ achievements. It’s understanding they have a problem and making a change for the better. Role modelling is a huge part of that change,” said Rosemary Brown, Care New Zealand Clinical Manager.
The Karaka Addiction Treatment Unit (ATU) opened in June 2003 and 30 successful graduates have passed through the programme since then. The ATU programme targets high risk inmates who have been assessed as substance dependent.
“The inmates have to be motivated and must want change in their lives. They receive education, skills training, group therapy and one on one therapy,” said Rosemary. “It’s not about pass or fail, it’s about whether they are ready to move on, or do they need more time. A lot of the inmates don’t make it through the first time, but if they persevere, their confidence grows and results happen.”
A Christian based restorative justice programme running at Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison plans to extend to two other prisons in the Midland Region over the coming months.
The innovative programme brings inmates and community volunteers who are victims of unrelated crimes together to work through the restorative justice process.
Sandy Stoddart, Programme Supply and Facilitation Manager Midland Region Public Prisons, says the Sycamore Tree programme has been running successfully at Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison for the past three years.
“I believe the programme’s effectiveness lies in the fact it asks offenders to fully acknowledge and understand the impact of their offending. It’s a very powerful process and the aim is to bring the offenders to a point where they can, with their victim’s consent, participate in a restorative justice meeting with the victim of their offending.”
The programme was named after the story in the bible about Zacchaeus, a dishonest tax collector who climbed a sycamore tree to get a better view of Jesus. After the pair met, Zacchaeus repented and agreed to pay back his victims. Rex Couper is the Associate Chaplain at
Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison and helps facilitate the programme. He says the programme is not an easy one, for either party.
“Each session covers a specific topic, such as taking responsibility for your actions, forgiveness, reconciliation or restitution. It takes a lot of courage for both the inmates and the volunteers,” says Rex.
As well as helping inmates address their offending behaviour, Rex believes the programme is also profoundly positive for the community volunteers.
“Participating in the programme gives the community volunteers a chance to start the healing process and move on with their lives.”
Inmates who wish to participate in the programme go through a screening process to determine their level of motivation and suitability. The programme is open to all inmates, Christian and non-Christian.
Sandy says the programme has now been picked up by Manawatu Prison, and there are plans to extend it to Wanganui Prison over the next few months.
Prison nurse and clinical advisor Dianna McGregor was honoured last month by her nursing peers and presented with the National Service Award to the New Zealand Nursing Organisation (NZNO), an award recognising her contribution to nursing.
Her 30-year career began at Waitakere and
Auckland Hospitals. However, the need for a new venture saw Dianna join the medical team at Auckland Prison as a staff nurse in 1996.
“I had nursed in many environments and I was looking for something completely different to satisfy my need to be challenged,” says Dianna.
Of Nga Puhi descent, Dianna is one of a few Māori nurses in the Public Prisons Service and believes she brings a spiritual familiarity for Māori inmates they find comforting.
“I don’t know what it is. It’s an added value and something different I bring. A Māori nurse working with Māori inmates.” Many inmates arrive at the prison in a poor state of health, with most of them having not accessed health services for years. “We diagnose diabetes, asthma, treat infections, the lot. The nurses do a fabulous job, they really do.”
Her role as a nurse within the prison system has seen Dianna progress to clinical nurse manager at Mt Eden Prison. More recently, however, Dianna has taken up the newly created role of regional clinical quality assurance adviser for the Auckland area, requiring her to develop and put in place the region’s clinical operational, risk management and quality assurance policy.
Nursing has changed dramatically since 1975, becoming more complex and demanding. To keep up, Dianna completed a Bachelor of Nursing and has undertaken postgraduate study in management, education and Māori health. She has also presented her findings on the delivery of healthcare at nursing conferences in Europe and North America.
As well as her general nursing contribution, Dianna was delighted to have her services to midwifery acknowledged by her peers at the 36,000-strong NZNO AGM.
“I was thrilled about the awards, but my ongoing challenge is to put prison nursing on the map and make it a really viable option for nurses,” says Dianna.
No doubt she will.
A new Memorandum of Understanding between Corrections and the Ministry of Health signals a closer working relationship between the two organisations and enhanced delivery of health and disability services to inmates.
Over the last few years both agencies have worked together to improve the health of prison inmates. The Memorandum of Understanding formalises this relationship and provides a framework for ongoing collaboration, particularly where there are complementary responsibilities for protecting and enhancing the health status of inmates.
Corrections Chief Executive Mark Byers says the collaboration with the Ministry of Health will help ensure prison inmates are able to access health and disability support services at a level comparable with other New Zealanders, and that prisons become more aware ofdisability issues.
With Corrections’ focus on reducing reoffending through rehabilitation, health has become a key element of its approach to offender management in recent years. The Memorandum of Understanding is a significant milestone, says Mr Byers.
“A large number of prison inmates are in poor health and in need of health services when they arrive at the prison gate.
“We have a shared responsibility to look after the health of our inmates.”
Karen Poutasi is delighted to see the Memorandum of Understanding formalise the ongoing relationship with Corrections. “There has been a major movement recently in the health sector to confront ill health through the Primary Health Care Strategy,” she says. “In working with Corrections on mutual priorities for the prison population, the Ministry of Health hopes to further this approach to the health of inmates.”
It’s five years since home detention was introduced to New Zealand as an alternative to imprisonment and, as at 30 August 2004, over 5,774 offenders have been granted home detention.
Figures for the year to 30 June 2004 show that, in the 12 months following a home detention start date, the reimprisonment rate for home detainees is 8.8 percent, compared to 28 percent for prison inmates 12 months after release. Twenty four months after starting on home detention, the re-imprisonment rate is 14.5 percent, 23.7 percent lower than the reimprisonment rate for inmates.
The majority (85 percent) of home detainees are front-end home detainees, where leave is granted by a sentencing judge to apply to the Parole Board for home detention. Offenders applying for frontend home detention must have a sentence of less than 24 months. Inmates serving determinate prison sentences can apply for back-end home detention three months prior to their parole eligibility date.
“Back-end home detention can help reintegrate an inmate back into the community. It gives them structure and support, while still ensuring a strict and well supervised monitoring regime,” says Community Probation Service (CPS) Manager Operational Policy and Planning, Tracy Mellor.
Home detention orders are for a maximum of 12 months, but under the Parole Act can be extended for a further 12 months. The average time spent on home detention is three months.
Home detainees are electronically tagged with a tamper-proof anklet and a calibrated, tamper-proof transmitter called a Home Monitoring Receiving Unit (HMRU) is installed in the home.
Surveillance of detainees is intensive and continuous and is carried out by CPS staff, probation officers and a contracted monitoring agency.
When a detainee breaches their designated zones, this automatically activates an alarm to CPS and the monitoring agency. A phone call to the detainee’s residence is made immediately, and a security unit with a mobile transmitter is despatchedwithin an hour of the breach if the phone call fails to locate the detainee. Regular face-to-face checks are also made. Public safety is the most important factor for the Parole Board when deciding a home detention application.
Acting Chairman of the Board Judge E.W. (Bill) Unwin says that, as with all the Board’s deliberations, the paramount consideration in home detention hearings is the safety of the community. Of the 7,120 cases heard in the 2003/04 year, 50 percent of front-end and 60 percent of back-end applications were declined.
Streamlined operations have seen the annual cost of supervising and monitoring detainees drop by 38 percent. At $23,602, the cost is very favourable compared with the annual bill of $58,692 to house a minimum-security inmate.
A benefit to families of home detainees and the taxpayer is that many detainees continue working while on home detention.
Workplaces are vetted for suitability and the willingness of the employer to cooperate with the home detention order. The detainee is subject to regular monitoring, shared between the employer, probation officer and monitoring agency. In some cases a HMRU is installed at the workplace, which ensures continuous and uninterrupted surveillance.
Convicted for fraud, former professional Charlie (not his real name) was sentenced into custody while applying for home detention. Charlie spent half his five-month sentence in Dunedin Prison. After the routine of prison, Charlie initially found the lack of it and the restrictions of home detention frustrating.
“In prison I went to the gym every day and could exercise in the yard. I couldn’t do that on home detention. It was very constraining until I got myself into a routine,” says Charlie. Living on his own prior to his conviction, Charlie lived with supportive friends for the duration of his home detention, which he says was a godsend.
“I needed the stimulation of other people being round me to keep the boredom at bay. It would have been hell for me living alone on home detention.”
He spent his days cleaning, cooking and doing odd jobs round the house. Charlie also got the help he needed to deal with his offending.
“I had better access to my doctor and other help on home detention than in prison.” Charlie says he won’t be re-offending and home detention played a part in that.
“It is a deterrent as it places restrictions on your life. However, I am determined that I will not put myself in a position again where I am faced with the possibility of prison or home detention.”
A recent trip to South Africa left Arts Access Aotearoa’s executive director Penny Eames with a goal; to bring their successful singing group concept to New Zealand’s prisons. Called Singing with Conviction, the project’s vision is to see singing groups set up in each prison, and it’s already capturing imaginations. A steering group has been established and is working out how New Zealand can reflect some of the South African experiences and establish the programme in a sustainable way.
The hope is that, ultimately, inmates will get to take part in a singing contest, displaying their talent and competing against each other. Unlike South Africa, where singing groups come to one venue to participate in the final competition, in New Zealand formal judging is more likely to happen through a video link. But there are challenges to be faced before then, including securing funding to ensure the programme can operate for several years, employing enough professional tutors, and coming up with the best way for inmates to learn the songs, as some will have limited reading skills and few are likely to be able to read music.
Although the tutors would visit prison groups each week, groups would most likely meet two or three times a week under the leadership of one of the participating inmates. Penny, who retires from her role this year, is so inspired by what she saw in South Africa that she will continue with this programme even after her retirement.
“There is a huge sense of pride in the inmates there, from the staff. They respect them for what they are doing,” says Penny, noting that this sort of activity has other spinoff effects, stimulating the memory in those taking part and building relationships within a group.
Led by Arts Access Aotearoa, the steering group has members from the New Zealand Choral Federation, New Zealand Prison Fellowship, New Zealand Prisoners Aid and Rehabilitation and the Department of Corrections.
Arts Access Aotearoa has worked with Corrections on a number of programmes that encourage inmates to strengthen their communications skills, take part in constructive activity and to work toward professional goals.
The vocal exercises are the same; singers repeating words to get them to sound just the way the tutor wants, occasional bursts of humour, talking about harmonising. There’s a talented accompianist on the keyboard. And then there are the songs.
Listening to them, it could be a singing group anywhere, but a look outside the chapel in which they meet reveals that this group practicises in a prison.
Once a week, for about six months, a group of men in Rimutaka Prison’s faith-based unit have been meeting to sing.
“I like the singing,” explains Mata, one of the members of the singing group. “We get to learn and have the chance to meet with other people in the [prison] community we don’t usually get to see.”
The group’s tutor, Brenda Shearer, loves the experience. “When you’ve got a whole group of men singing, it’s amazing,” says Brenda. “Their posture changes, there’s so much enthusiasm. You can see their confidence building.”
The group has worked hard and Brenda says the efforts they are putting in are showing. The prospect of competing against other groups through Singing with Conviction has added an extra element to recent practices.
“Since I mentioned the competition the standard has gone through the roof. And there is some exceptional talent here too. There are guys here who could have a career in the music industry.”
“Naming the buildings is an important part of setting the culture of any new facility. We worked closely with Ngati Rangi to develop names for every building that are meaningful to both iwi and those who will live and work there,” says Mike Hughes, NRCF Site Manager.
The 21 buildings named so far all have Māori names with strong positive meanings, and staff and inmates will be encouraged to use the Māori names. The building names all have a nature theme, explains Mac Anania, Chairman of the Ngati Rangi Development Society.
“We thought long and hard about what we wanted to convey, we wanted to find really positive names,” says Mac.
“The names are straightforward - they are easy to remember and easy to use. The idea was to have common words that people use in everyday korero (speak), we wanted them to be user-friendly.
“For example, the time out room for youth is called Kareo which is the name for the supplejack vine. It’s easy to see the relevance to youth.”
Mac says Ngati Rangi have enjoyed the process of naming the buildings as it’s been a truly equal process.
“There has been equal input from kaitiaki (guardians) and Department staff into developing the names for the buildings - after all, we’re all going to be living with the names!”
Senior managers from Probation and Offender Services (POS) met with Ngati Rangi representatives recently to talk about the role of POS in the Department.
Along with their colleagues from the Public Prisons Service and Policy Development, POS managers joined around 30 members of Ngati Rangi at the meeting, which was facilitated by Northern Region Corrections Facility Site Manager Mike Hughes.
Lisa Pitman, Area Manager Taitokerau for the Community Probation Service, says the managers gave presentations on POS operations and the Department’s Māori Strategic Plan.
“While POS has developed relationships with Ngati Rangi at a local level, it was invaluable to bring managers to Te Taitokerau to meet face to face with Ngati Rangi. We discussed a range of topics and focused on how to further develop our relationship across all the groups and services.”
Lisa says she is looking forward to the next meeting. “We had a very productive and positive discussion that hopefully provided insight to the role of the other services of the Department.” Mac Anania, Chairman Ngati Rangi Development Society, says kaitiaki (guardians) also found the meeting to be very positive.
“The integration of the services with kaitiaki is really important - we all share a common goal of wanting to create a safer community for everyone. Greater interaction between kaitiaki and the Community Probation Service and the Psychological Service is another step towards this,” says Mac.
Works were submitted from Rimutaka, Wellington and Arohata Women’s Prisons for the ‘Taonga Korero - From The Inside Out’ exhibition held at the Expressions Arts and Entertainment Centre in Upper Hutt recently. Curator Aaron Laurence said he was “blown away with the quality of some of the works”.
“There was one inmate in particular who, if he decides he wants to go professional, I think would do pretty well,” says Aaron.
The exhibition grew out of a link between Aaron, Rimutaka Prison carving tutor Dave Te Hira, Regional Māori Service Development Advisor Bill Simpson, and mother and son Joy and Danny Bullen from Upper Hutt’s Orongomai Marae.
The aims of the exhibition were to show the talents of the inmates and aid their reintegration back into the communuity by encouraging and developing their talents. Dave says all works submitted had to have a positive message or theme.
The exhibition consisted of around three dozen works, including painting, carving, quiltwork, flax weaving, and an ostrich egg with paua shell decoration.
A number of visitors to the exhibition commented on an intricate pencil on paper work depicting a Māori Last Supper, after Leonardo’s original Italian renaissance masterpiece.
Bill Simpson says with the exhibition’s success there is a possibility it could become an annual event.
“We’re thinking the art work should be permanently presented, and on display somewhere,” he says.
While it is clearly contrary to an individual’s basic rights to force a person to attend a rehabilitative programme, it is equally the
case that offenders have only limited freedom of choice as far as engaging in rehabilitative programmes are concerned. This is because, particularly in custodial settings, engagement in and completion of a programme may have a significant bearing on the outcome of parole hearings, and may also impact on the level of restriction which is placed on an offender while in custody and the degree to which they may access a variety of privileges available within the institution.
This situation is discussed by Day, Tucker & Howells(1) , in a recent journal article.
Essentially, they argue that many offenders are not distressed by their offending, do not necessarily regard it as a problem, and consequently are not driven towards treatment in order to reduce levels of psychological discomfort. This situation particularly applies to that group of high-risk offenders for whom rehabilitation is considered to be a top priority.
While there are various practical and ethical arguments which can be used to justify a degree of coercion in the treatment area, the extent to which coerced treatment is likely to be effective is a critical consideration in determining how acceptable such practices are. Day and his colleagues observe that, notwithstanding the significance of this question, there has been comparatively little research in this area. Studies that have been undertaken have investigated the impact of coercion on treatment variables and on eventual outcomes. As far as the treatment process is concerned, it has been consistently found that those individuals who are required to attend treatment tend to stay in that treatment longer than those whose attendance is regarded as more voluntary.
Investigation of coercion in drug treatment also reveals two major findings. Firstly, successful outcome is positively associated with the length of time in treatment, and secondly, addicts who are coerced into treatment stay longer than those who are not coerced. When these findings are considered against the fact that those who drop out of treatment programmes generally have increased levels of recidivism, such results are of even greater significance.
The authors conclude that despite a less than adequate evidence base, it does seem that coercion is likely to have positive effects in ensuring that offenders attend for treatment and stay in treatment, and that such retention in treatment is likely to be associated with a range of positive treatment outcomes.
The implications for the therapeutic relationship are that some of the negativity and hostility expressed by those offenders who perceive coercion may be overcome by the provision of accurate information about the consequence of non-participation as well as by the explicit acknowledgement of the extent to which the practitioner is working for the wider community as well as the individual.
The authors also argue that the degree to which offenders accept that pressure to attend programmes is “fair”, that it is made clear to them that the decision to accept or refuse treatment is still theirs to make, such resistance may be reduced. Moreover, there is also evidence that emphasising the negative consequences of non-participation is likely to be less effective than the potentially productive impact of positively re-enforcing treatment involvement.
Finally, Day and colleagues argue that there is a clear need for interventions to improve treatment readiness which focus upon factors such as problem recognition and motivation for change.
1 Day A., Tucker K., Howells K. (2004) Coerced Offender Rehabilitation - A Defensible Practice? Psychology Crime and Law, 10, pp29-39.
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