At Corrections, we are dealing with some of the most difficult problems human nature has to offer.
It’s not easy work and it’s made all the more difficult because some of the people in our care are never going to turn their lives around - regardless of the help and support we give them.
But this does not take away the responsibility to give those who do want to take control of their lives all the support we reasonably can. Our work is challenging but, for most of us, we are here because we are genuinely interested in the job.
But we should also be aware that we are in a dynamic environment that demands we are responsive and constantly seeking better ways of doing our job. This was the message I passed on at a meeting of senior managers this month.
Protecting the public and reducing reoffending remains our primary focus. But within that, we must focus on the following priorities:
We do this against the backdrop of a sharply rising prison population which is forecast to expand by a further 1200 by 2011. Despite a massive prison construction programme already, more large prisons will be required if everything continues on this path of rising prisoner numbers.
Meanwhile, our work with offenders who have not been imprisoned continues to grow. We have 1200 staff in 140 locations managing 65,000 sentences and orders out in the community. In the process, more than two million hours of free labour are provided to communities each year.
Community Probation Service and Psychological Services provide 36,000 reports to the judiciary and the Parole Board and our psychologists 22,000 hours of consultation to offenders.
Developing community-based options will be of increasing importance as we meet the challenges ahead. To get there, we will need to promote the concept of a single integrated Department that works on a collaborative basis. The appointment of Phil McCarthy as the General Manager Integration was a step towards this.
We will have to find ways to streamline our services, to eliminate any waste and duplication so that we can move towards a Corrections that is responsive and adaptable, that acknowledges New Zealand’s unique environment while drawing on the best from overseas, and is committed to continuous improvement.
You may recall in the April Corrections News I said I wanted to tap into the knowledge and experience of all our staff in plotting the way forward. This is the message I reinforced at the managers’ meeting - that I was looking for ideas from across the organisation so that we could develop a consensus view on where we should be going.
To me, that’s extremely important. If we are going to succeed in making the changes needed in the next few years, Corrections staff will have to believe they are appropriate.
The only time I ever implemented someone else’s solution was when I agreed with it, or there was a powerful incentive to do so.
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ISSN 1178-8453