Download Corrections News September 2004 (pdf: 758KB)
Inside:
- PPS, Justice sector thanked
- Professional ethics shine at Mt Eden Prison
- Planning a sentence
- Bikers riding high on community work
Inmates working in the prison’s 4,300 hectares of forest gained 283 forestryrelated New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) unit standards during 2003/04.
The National Certificate in Forestry is made up of a number of modules including tree thinning and pruning, chainsaw maintenance and operation, forestry industry knowledge and first aid.
Forestry students going from strength to strength
Five inmates who recently earned their National Certificates in Forestry are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to forestry training at Tongariro/Rangipo Prison.
According to Corrections Inmate Employment (CIE) Instructor Fred Corfield, who trains the inmates, every job in the industry has ‘NZQA standards required’ in the advertisement. Fred says the NZQA unit standards he teaches are considered the minimum standard for working in the industry, so the training really helps inmates when they are released from prison.
“The inmates work at their own pace some might take a year to complete the Certificate, others just a few months depending on their level of skill,” he says. Inmates pay tribute to Fred’s efforts in training them and several comment that without his dedication and commitment, they wouldn’t have been able to achieve the National Certificate.
Says one inmate who has recently completed his qualification, “I’d never done it [forestry] before, and CIE offered an opportunity. I was lucky to strike Fred who wanted to teach me.”
Inmates who meet the selection criteria also participate in Corrections’ release to work programme, leaving prison during the day to work at forestry jobs in the community before returning to prison at night.
Fred also uses his industry contacts to help those pupils who show promise and commitment to obtain permanent jobs in the industry when they are released.
CIE Primary Sector Manager Scott Gretton says the forestry training programme at Tongariro/Rangipo Prison is an excellent example of what employment training programmes are all about - helping inmates to obtain jobs on release so they are less likely to re-offend.
Where we are at: end of 2003/04 year report
Chief Executive's Comment
I want to pass on my congratulations and appreciation to Corrections staff for another year of commendable achievement. It has also been a year that leaves us better placed for the future. As the benefits of the Output Pricing Review funding come through they will better enable us to maintain and enhance our capability. Firstly, and most importantly, there will be more money to invest in training and development of our most important resource - people. Secondly, we should be in a position where the Assets and Property team is much better placed to get on top of asset maintenance issues and take a more effective and long-term approach to this question. And our IT team will be better placed to maintain the Integrated Offender Management System (IOMS) with decisions made before too long on future direction for developing the system.
The services have coped pretty well with bigger volumes of offenders than were expected when the Statement of Intent was printed and servicing and support for the Parole Board has now reached a steady situation. Corrections Inmate Employment has reached a position at the end of the year that should leave it poised for the prospect of some further expansion. And I am confident that the establishment of Intervention Services should lead to more effective programme delivery. The additional money the Minister has secured for reintegration initiatives will also strengthen our efforts in reducing re-offending.
The Corrections Act has been passed and we have also been involved in supporting other legislation and providing good quality advice on policy and legislative issues.
The Regional Prisons Development Project has come through a variety of challenging situations, yet remains in good shape to deliver on time and within budget.
There have been a whole host of other achievements, whether they be improvements in meeting quality standards or exceeding targets set. On the other side of the ledger there are areas where we didn’t do as well as we would have liked, despite the effort put in. Some of those shortcomings were more significant than others. We must look to learn from such lapses so that we can do much better next year.
Overall, we continue to compare reasonably well with our contemporaries overseas. Some things we do better, and we generally compare very well on efficiency factors. Our stakeholders and the New Zealand public can be assured they are getting good value for their taxpayer dollar.
Once again a big thank you for a year, which while not perfect, and I don’t know of any comparable Corrections environment that is characterised by unallayed praise, was a very creditable one and one which overall you can feel mighty proud about.
Moreover, as I said at the outset, a number of this year’s achievements will have benefits in future years.
Mark Byers
Chief Executive
PPS, justice sector thanked
The ongoing efforts of Department staff in response to prison population pressures have not gone unnoticed.
Public Prisons Service (PPS) General Manager Phil McCarthy says the unexpectedly high prison population has proved a challenge for the Department, and other justice sector agencies New Zealand Police, Ministry of Justice and the New Zealand Parole Board.
“The Department is working with these agencies to ensure the situation is managed effectively,” says Phil.
“But I must commend staff who have all risen to the occasion, and managed the increased numbers in a very professional manner,” he says.
“A number of options are currently being investigated to alleviate pressure on prison numbers.”
These include extending bed numbers at Auckland, Waikeria, Auckland Central Remand and Mt Eden prisons; and double bunking at Hawke’s Bay, Rimutaka, Christchurch Women’s and Invercargill prisons.
“An additional 40 beds will be available when the refurbishment of Wanganui Prison is complete.
“Because the prison system is structured nationally, every development will help ease pressure throughout the country.”
In the meantime, police cells will continue to be used to accommodate inmates, under the two parties’ Memorandum of Understanding.
National Property Manager William Whewell says that planning for four new prisons started in 1998.
The new prisons will significantly increase the range and capacity of the prison system, with the Northland Region Corrections Facility and Spring Hill Corrections Facility to include around 15 and 80 youth beds respectively.
The Auckland Region Women’s Corrections Facility is expected to open by mid-2006. The much smaller women’s prison population makes it vulnerable to fluctuations. This, and growing numbers of women inmates, has further confirmed the need for the women-only prison planned for Manukau City.
As a mid-term solution, 23 new beds were added to Waikeria Prison’s women-only Nikau Unit in June, making a total of 83 on that site, and 381 beds nationally.
Police and Corrections sign high-risk offenders agreement in Auckland
Last month Auckland Police and the Community Probation Service (CPS), signed a service level agreement on the management of high-risk offenders.
The agreement will increase cooperation between the agencies, enhance community safety and reduce re-offending through a greater sharing of information on offenders identified with a high probability of re-offending.
Terms of the agreement include CPS advising Police of pending high-risk offender releases and of any breaches committed by high-risk offenders. In turn, Police will advise where legislation can be better utilised to apply for conditions or orders. Police will also provide support to ensure the safety of CPS staff who face possible violence or intimidation from a high-risk offender.
The agreement covers the Auckland areas of Manukau and Waitemata and is underpinned by the 2001 Memorandum of Understanding that operates nationally between the two agencies.
Professional Ethics Shine at Mt Eden Prison
A core group of Mt Eden Prison staff has been established to identify and implement ways to improve professional culture at the prison and public perception of prison staff.
The initiative represents the current stage of the national Professional Ethics project, started in 2001 and now operating in every New Zealand prison.
Mt Eden staff are currently targeting ways to improve their contact with the general public.
“Staff recognise that they are not always seen in a positive way by the public. The group is addressing this by identifying areas where staff can be encouraged to raise their level of professionalism,” says organiser of the group, Unit Manager Raewyn Abbott.
One of the ways we’re doing this includes a campaign to improve the uniform standard, in line with national standards.
“We’re ensuring that staff who have direct public contact always wear a tie, with a tiepin, to raise their image publicly. New shoecleaning equipment available for staff to use has been one of the more popular initiatives of the professional ethics group.”
Site Manager Brigid Bradley says the new focus on making positive changes to the professional culture has been a boost to staff morale, which is great to see.
“Staff realise that their attitude is crucial when dealing with the public, and there has been a combined effort by staff to ensure the public are noticing an improved image.”
The group recently organised a barbeque to thank staff for their continued support, and there are plans underway for further initiatives as part of the national project.
Report on high-risk offenders released
A year-long study into New Zealand’s highest-risk offenders has recently been completed. The report, New Zealand’s highrisk offenders: Who are they and what are the issues in their management and treatment?, involved 149 inmates from Waikeria Prison and seeks insight into offenders predicted to seriously re-offend.
“Besides their criminal history and broad demographic details, very little information exists on what is a diverse, and high-risk, group of people,” says Nick Wilson, Senior Adviser Psychological Services and author of the report.
“The results of the study will be used to develop more effective treatment programmes for high-risk offenders whose behaviour is well-learnt and hard to manage.”
Nick says the 149 participants were interviewed and tested using various measures, which looked at treatment history, mental health, personality, developmental history, criminogenic (crime-causing) needs and cultural knowledge.
Participants had RoC*RoI (a Department risk-assessment tool) scores starting at .70, or a 70 percent risk of serious re-offending.
Those offenders with scores of .80 and above were categorised as highest-risk. Forty eight percent of participants fell into the highestrisk category.
“All participants had a chronic history of escalating serious offending that, for the majority, began before 13 years of age.
Drugs, alcohol and unstable home, employment and personal relationships also featured highly among participants,” says Nick.
Unexpected and concerning was that nearly a third of the group were distinguished by the presence of severe personality disorders including Paranoid Personality Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, and Schizotypal Personality Disorder. Eleven percent indicated a combination of these personality disorders.
“People with disorders are resistant to the control of others, ready to bear grudges and tend to be unforgiving, suspicious, hypersensitive, easily slighted, and always looking for information that might support and validate their hostile belief system,” says Nick.
Māori language tools launched
Innovative desktop resources designed to help staff improve their language skills were launched during Māori Language Week.
The three language tools were designed by Bob Hill, Senior Human Resources Adviser (Responsiveness), to provide staff with a quick, easy reference for everyday use of the Māori language (Te Reo).
“The idea was to develop something that would support and encourage staff to use Te Reo in the workplace,” says Bob.
There are three tools available to staff; a desktop cube, a desktop folding card and a pocket leaflet.
Each tool has a range of common Māori words and phrases, along with English translations.
The tools are a part of the Department’s Māori Language Strategy, which is being developed to support the Māori Strategic Plan. “The Māori Strategic Plan calls for greater responsiveness to Māori and emphasises the value of Te Reo skills in increasing responsiveness,” says Bob.
“We asked a number of staff about how the Department can support and encourage Te Reo in the workplace.
We also consulted with other government departments about how they were developing and supporting Te Reo in the workplace.”
More information for staff on the Māori language, and using it in the workplace, is available on the Department’s intranet under the ‘Staff Updates’ tab. The resources were recently distributed to each site.
It’s easier to say
Thanks...
Artwork from an inmate at Auckland Prison has been used to create new Corrections greeting cards. Each pack of ten cards features two designs - a hawk and brightly coloured flowers.
The inmate artist is a member of Auckland Prison’s well-recognised art class.
Jacqui Connor, Programme Coordinator at Auckland Prison, says projects like the greeting cards are a great opportunity to promote the talents of inmates who have worked hard to develop their artwork skills.
The objective of art programmes is to support inmates to develop their artistic talent and to make positive life choices. The Auckland Prison art class meets once a week and has an ‘art komiti’, an inmate committee that helps the tutor to operate the class. Being involved with the komiti provides an opportunity for inmates to improve their leadership and management skills.
Inmates in the Auckland Prison art programme have also produced artwork for a range of projects. These include murals donated to Auckland Hospital in 2003, art exhibitions sponsored by C r e a t i v e New Zealand, and the Department’s Christmas cards.
The greeting cards can be ordered by staff via the Department intranet.
Helping families help inmates
Inmates’ families can be the forgotten victims of crime. Family/whanau have an important role to play in the reintegrative process, helping offenders make a successful transition back to the community.
Corrections works with community-based organisations to help minimise the impact of imprisonment on offenders’ relatives. Chris Thornborough, Manager Corporate Services, says Corrections’ relationship with those organisations helps ensure offenders have a better chance of successfully returning to community life.
“The work these organisations do is very important as their practical support helps inmates live offence-free in the community.”
One such group, New Zealand Prisoners’ Aid and Rehabilitation Society (NZPARS), has been working with offenders and their families for over 125 years.
NZPARS assists offenders and their family/whanau to tackle any practical problems when they rejoin the community.
The organisation helps exinmates find jobs, provides advice on finances and relationship issues, and helps offenders develop links with support networks and other agencies to help them stay crimefree.
Healing journey
Innovative landscaping for the entrance to the new Northland Region Corrections Facility (NRCF), near Kaikohe, is underway.
Mike Hughes, NRCF Site Manager, says that the landscaping design is one of the many concrete examples of the partnership between Ngati Rangi and Corrections.
The landscaping design is based on the koru, which represents new life and captures the spiritual elements of the site, says Ngati Rangi representative Percy Tipene.
He says the design begins with lower growing plants and has a kauri tree, symbolising leadership, at the top. Making up the centre part of the koru are various medicinal and healing plants such as korimiko and kawakawa and vegetation of different colours, shapes and textures. Percy says that Ngati Rangi chose the plant species to reflect cultural and traditional uses.
On the right-hand side of the entry is the male koru, with its tail pointing in toward the facility: here the design is characterised by large, angular rocks and scattered plantings.
“This symbolises the fragmentation of society and the views of those entering the facility,” says Percy.
On the left-hand side of the entrance is the female koru, which has its tail pointing away from the facility, symbolising the mother guiding her son to safety. Here the planting is more enclosing and includes many groups of plants, which represent the shelter and nurturing of whanau groups, Percy explains.
The plants on the male side of the design retain seeds, while vegetation on the female side typically produce berries or have the ability to attract birds, continuing the design theme of ‘new life’.
Planting will form a corridor from the roadside to the facility entry, and the landscape themes used at the entrance will be used throughout the facility.
Mike says Ngati Rangi are involved in various other activities at the site, including recruitment of staff to work at the facility, naming of buildings, training and programmes development and procedures.
Future Leaders graduate
The third intake of Future Leaders graduated recently after completing a 26-month course designed to develop staff with the potential to become leaders at Corrections.
Natasha Barnett, Management Accountant and one of the graduates, says she found the programme challenging and worthwhile.
“It was an invaluable opportunity, not only to acquire managerial tools and techniques, but to build relationships and learn about operations outside head office,” says Natasha.
The 12 graduates completed five intensive workshops that covered diverse subjects ranging from critical thinking and understanding the public sector, to leading others through change.
Participants also produced individually focused personal development plans, identifying their strengths and weaknesses and how to work on them.
The final course requirement was a presentation to the Chief Executive and General Managers at the day-long graduation. The purpose of the presentation was to combine the theory skills with practical skills of presentation, communication and time management.
The Chief Executive addressed the graduates and spoke about his own progress through management and the importance of learning from the organisation’s successful managers.
Presentations on the day included CPS Service Manager Melissa Brussovs on Inter- Service Staff Integration and Cooperation and Natasha Barnett on Service Manager Desk File and Role-Specific Duties.
The fourth intake of Future Leaders are halfway through their course, and the next group is currently being selected.
Planning a sentence
Whether it’s 13 weeks or 13 years, all newly sentenced inmates are assigned a sentence planner who identifies and creates a tailor-made programme that aims to upskill the inmate and halt the cycle of offending.
Sentence planning is part of effective offender management, a long-term strategy aimed at reducing re-offending.
Chris Williams, Sentence Planner Waikeria Prison, explains the process for inmates arriving at Waikeria Prison, in the central North Island.
“After completing the receiving process, inmates are sent to the West South Unit for an induction interview and post-sentence assessment.”
“The induction process explains the rules of the prison and the inmate’s rights, and the post-sentencing assessment determines an inmate’s custodial sentence category, which is separate from the security classification process and the foundation of a sentence plan.”
According to Chris, time is the key ingredient to creating a successful sentence plan.
“The philosophy is, regardless of the sentence length, you’ve got to spend the time with the inmate to make sure you get a good sentence plan. That makes it easier for staff down the line to manage the offender.”
An inmate who is categorised as a shortserving inmate, which is anything under 13 weeks, is ‘picked up’ by a sentence planner within seven days of arrival at the unit and a basic Living Needs Assessment and Reintegrative Needs Assessment are carried out.
“Because they’re not there for a long time, we focus on making sure the inmate’s living, spiritual, cultural and re-integrative needs are met, rather than looking at any long-term interventions,” says Chris. Inmates serving longer sentences may wait longer before the assessment process can begin. This delay is to gather information such as pre-sentencing and psychological reports, along with judges’ sentencing notes. If an inmate’s pre-sentencing report indicates a high risk of re-offending, the sentence planner conducts a Pre-disposing Criminogenic Needs Assessment (PCN).
The main purpose of this assessment is to establish a timeline of events in the six months prior to the offence and the emotional, mental and financial triggers that contributed to the inmate committing the offence.
“We try to get them to understand the cycle that leads to their offending,” says Chris. “Most inmates aren’t used to verbally expressing themselves, so retracing steps can be painful, frustrating and time-consuming. Some interviews can take up to two days to complete.”
Chris explains that the PCN also determines an inmate’s criminogenic (crime-causing) needs, such as whether the offender has a propensity towards violence or whether offences are sexually motivated. Finally, the assessment indicates an inmate’s acknowledgement of and willingness to address their offending.
If the inmate is not motivated to address their offending behaviour then attention will be given to interventions that may improve their willingness to participate in rehabilitative programmes.
“Using the information gathered, the sentence planner creates a plan that best meets the inmate’s needs and motivation. Once the plan has been written, the inmate leaves the assessment unit and is appointed a case manager who implements and manages the plan.”
The sentence plan is reviewed on a sixmonthly basis. Towards the end of an inmate’s sentence, the sentence plan is updated to include the reintegrative process that will prepare the inmate for release back into the community.
Inmate Security Classification
Maximum security
High risk of escape and/or public harm and/or internal risk. Intensive level of supervision. Separated from the mainstream prison population.
High medium
High risk of escape with a moderate to high risk to the public and/or internal risk. High level of supervision.
Low medium
Low level of internal risk and escape. However, may be a risk to public safety.
Minimum
Minimal risk of escape, internal risk or public safety. Low level of supervision.
Inmate Category
Remand
Remanded in custody awaiting trial or sentencing. A sentence plan will be completed for a remandee with more than seven weeks in custody.
Short-serving
Has less than 13 weeks to serve.
Functional Support
Has severe behavioural problems or disability.
Motivation
Higher risk of reconviction and reimprisonment. PCN assessment has determined a low motivation to address criminal offending behaviour and therefore inmate is not suitable for rehabilitative programmes.
Intervention
Higher risk of reconviction and reimprisonment. PCN assessment has determined a willingness to address criminal offending behaviour and is therefore suitable for rehabilitative programmes.
Bikers riding High on Community Work Help
Whangerei is on track to getting extensive world-class mountain bike terrain, thanks to a partnership between the local Community Probation Service, the Whangarei Mountainbike Club, and the Northland District Council.
The Whangarei Mountainbike Club has long promoted the development of dedicated mountain bike trails, but didn’t have the necessary manpower says Community Probation Service Manager Don Robertson.
“The Council owns the forestry land around Mount Parahaka where the tracks are being developed and gave their OK in principle and agreed to pay for things like a Port-a-loo,” says Don.
“The club has the knowledge, and offenders sentenced to Community Work are providing the labour,” he says.
“Work started in March, and we are looking at building up to 30km of trails.” Before work started there weren’t any dedicated mountain bike tracks in Whangarei, although there were plenty of riders.
“The community workers think it is great and want to give it a go on the hills themselves. “They don’t see it as boring work - they are actually contributing something.”
Community Work is a sentence which requires offenders to do unpaid work in the community, as compensation for their offences.
Community workers provide around 400,000 hours of labour to Northland not-forprofit community groups each year, says Don.
Club vice-president Rob Cave says the landscape is suitable for building tracks of all levels.
“At the moment the tracks are virgin and need lots of work. We are doing learner and intermediate areas to try and get families involved.” More advanced sections will be added later.
The club has big plans for the Mount Parahaka tracks - the design is based on those in Rotorua, the venue of the 2006 International Mountainbike Championships.
Rob hopes the Mount Parahaka area will be able to host national if not international events once the work has been completed. “Projects like this are good for the wider community, in the long run, not just mountain bikers.”
Marking time 21st century style
Community Probation Service (CPS) staff have abandoned their Excel spreadsheets and moved into the twenty-first century with a new activity recording system that makes completing their timesheets a breeze. John O’Reilly, Information Technology Team Leader for CPS, says better quality information is a major benefit of the new system.
“The information we get through the new system is likely to be better considered and more accurate than in the past. The better the information, the more robust our forecasting and reporting will be.”
For the last eight years or so CPS staff have used Excel spreadsheets to document their activities, such as completing presentencing reports, and how long those activities took. But from July this year, staff have been using the activity recording module on the Department’s intranet-based employee and manager self-service system, which combines the flexibility of the old system with modern technology, comprehensive reporting and significantly less data entry.
Ann White, a CPS administration officer based in Napier, was responsible for testing the system before it was rolled out to staff.
While admitting she might be a little biased, Ann says the new system is brilliant and a lot easier to use.
“I’m spending much less of my time inputting data and more time monitoring the quality of information staff are entering into the system.”
WHAT’S NEW IN THE LITERATURE
Supervising sex offenders in the community
With the enactment of recent legislation allowing for the extended supervision of those who sexually offend against children and are at high-risk of re-offending, it is timely to look at approaches taken by other jurisdictions.
High quality supervision of sexual offenders following release improves community safety by reducing sexual recidivism. Such supervision can reduce risk when it monitors and addresses factors related to recidivism, and in a recently presented paper to the tenth Symposium on Violence and Aggression, Andrew Harris(1) describes the administration of repeated assessment of over 1,000 sexual offenders on community supervision.
Harris notes that quality risk prediction can be achieved by using instruments such as the Static 99, which examine historical criminal history and other variables. However, these instruments do not consider change in risk over time, nor can they shed light on when those charged with supervising offenders in the community should intervene. Consequently, the Dynamic Supervision Project was set up to shed light on those stable dynamic factors and more acute factors which are subject to change over time.
Both the static predictors and the stable and acute dynamic predictors of sex offender recidivism were empirically derived from a database that summarises numerous studies of sex offender recidivism carried out over the last 30 years.
The project described by Harris involves probation and parole officers in participating jurisdictions being trained in the assessment process. Once trained, the assessment instruments are administered during the first few meetings with parolees, and are re-administered at regular (sixmonth) intervals throughout the supervisory period.
This allows for those charged with administering the parole process to determine which offenders are becoming less risky over time, which offenders are becoming more risky and, most importantly, it allows for the assignment of offenders to different treatment and supervisory options based upon their needs.
Harris reports that acute risk factors are monitored at every meeting between the parole officer and the offender, as these factors can change very rapidly and require close monitoring. The assessment itself, which involves monitoring of access to victims, emotional collapse, collapse of social supports, hostility, substance abuse, sexual preoccupations, and rejection of supervision, only takes a few minutes but provides a valuable “barometer” of the offender’s risk and allows for immediate intervention as appropriate.
The Dynamic Supervision Project is operating in all ten Canadian provinces and two American States, and involves over 1,000 sexual offenders released into the community. All data from assessments is being collated, and at project completion precise mapping of the relationship between stable and acute risk factors and sexual and violent recidivism will be achieved. This can then lead to a series of business rules which will guide the type and degree of intervention required to achieve ongoing mitigation of sexual re-offending risk. This initiative has some similarities to aspects of processes which are being developed to manage sex offenders here under the new extended supervision regime.
The findings of this project will have the potential to assist us in further refining our practices and procedures in order that we may better manage risk of further sexual offending.
1 Harris A (2004), Sex Offender Supervision in the Community, Tenth Biennial Symposium on Violence and Aggression, Saskatoon, June 20-23, 2004