A steadily climbing prison population, more offenders managed on community sentences and orders, and an increasing average age of prisoners are the key trends indicated in Corrections' first Offender Volumes Report (OVR).
Released in May, the annual report replaces the biennial Prison Census carried out from 1987-2003. It includes trends for offenders managed in the community and in prison.
"The report provides breakdowns of offenders by age, gender, ethnicity, offence type, sentence type and length, and a range of other variables," says Strategy and Research Manager Peter Johnston.
By drawing on historic sentence and release records, the OVR tracks offenders' progress throughout their contact with the Department and shows trends across Corrections' work since 1980.
In doing so, it shows for example, the number of repeat offenders as compared to f rst time offenders managed by the Department in the 2006-2007 year.
The Offender Volumes Report is available at http://www.corrections.govt.nz/public/research/offender-volumes-report-2007/index.html
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ISSN 1178-8453