Criminal History Checks on Occupants

When to complete checks

The probation officer should (with the occupants' consent) carry out criminal history checks on the occupants of the proposed address if the:

offender is HRX and/or meets the criteria for inclusion on the OWS
offender is serving their sentence of imprisonment for a child sex offence (including child pornography)
offender is being considered for RR
probation officer has concerns about the offender and/or their release proposal (eg, suspicion of domestic violence or gang activity at the proposed parole address).

Purpose of checks

Criminal history checks are completed for two reasons:

to confirm that the occupants are who they say they are
to evaluate the suitability of the occupants in relation to the:
- possible risk to the offender
- overall appropriateness of the occupant in a setting where a parolee may be residing.

The safety and welfare of every occupant in the proposed parole address must be considered.

Note: It is inappropriate to assume that the age of an occupant (i.e. aged 16 years or under) excludes the need for a criminal history check to be completed.

Who to complete checks on

When deciding who to complete criminal history checks on, the probation officer must consider every person or type of person who ordinarily lives at the address, or (in the case of RR) who will be there while the offender is confined to the address.

When the offender is proposing to live in a family home or a private dwelling that is shared with one or more people (ie, communal facilities and living area), then criminal history checks should be carried out for all people who are aged 16 years or older and ordinarily live at the address.

If the offender is proposing to live in any other type of accommodation (eg, a residential programme, marae or hostel-type accommodation), then the probation officer must use their discretion to determine who (if anybody) criminal history checks should be carried out for.

Note: If the probation officer is unsure who to conduct criminal history checks on, they should discuss this with a service manager.

Occupants with criminal records

Having a criminal record does not necessarily make a person unsuitable as an occupant.

When reviewing the criminal records of any occupants, consider the following:

Is the offending similar to the offender's?
Will this person provide pro-social support or are they likely to collude with the offender?
Will the safety of the offender or the occupant(s) be at risk due to the type of offending (eg, domestic violence)?

Departmental records

Departmental records (including IOMS and CPPS files) must not be used to obtain information on occupants. The only information that can be sought is through the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) criminal history checks.

This is necessary because the Privacy Act states that information may only be used for the purpose for which it was collected. This means that information collected about an offender for the purpose of managing their sentence/order may only be used for this purpose. It cannot be used for the purpose of informing decisions about another person.

Steps to take

The following table outlines the steps to take to conduct a criminal history check.

Step

Action

Obtain written permission from each occupant aged 16 years and over to request and obtain the information from the MoJ.

Request each occupant complete Priv/F2 Request by Third Party for a Copy of an Individual's Criminal History form.

If the occupant declines to give written permission for the probation officer to request and obtain their criminal history from the MoJ, then the information cannot be obtained. This should be noted in the parole assessment report.

If permission is given, the probation officer will complete the relevant information and fax the form to:
Privacy Unit, Ministry of Justice
Fax number: 04 918 8974

The request for the conviction list(s) should be made as soon as possible. The following timeframes have been agreed between the Department of Corrections and MoJ.

Category	Return Time
Emergency	1 working day (if received by 10.00AM, otherwise within 24 hours).
Urgent	3 working days.
Standard	20 working days (mailed back).

Note: A working day is Monday to Friday inclusive, not including public holidays.

For checks on occupants in relation to parole, probation officers should fax the form using the 'emergency' or 'urgent' categories.

MoJ will fax the information back to the service centre.

At the end of the agreed timeframe, if the information is not provided, follow up with MoJ.

Completing the criminal history check form

The following are steps to take to complete the Priv/F2 Request by Third Party for a Copy of an Individual's Criminal History form.

For section…	ensure…
1: Subjects' Authority to Release Information	the occupant: dates and signs this section ticks the section ‘other’, specifying in the box below ’parole’ ticks the ‘all convictions report’ box lets you know if they wish to receive a copy of the information provided to the third party.
2: Third Party Details	you input: the name of the agency the third party is acting for. This is the group or service the probation officer represents (eg, CPPS Wanganui service centre) the full name of the third party (probation officer) the address, your name, designated position, return fax number and personal signature.
3: Subject's Details	the occupant: completes all of the ‘personal details’, ‘previous names’ and ‘current residential address’ portions of this section completes as much of the information as possible in relation to their ‘postal address’ and ‘previous two residential addresses’. You: indicate whether you have sighted the occupant's driver's license or passport under ‘subject's identification’. Note: If the occupant does not have an enlarged photocopy of either their driver's license or passport, the probation officer must fill in all sections of the Supplement to MOJ Form Priv/F2.form.
4: Proof of Identity	this is completed by a person nominated by the offender to confirm their identity when they do not have a driver's license or passport. Note: Conditions around who the nominated persons can be are listed on the form.

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