Determine offender's level of risk
Determining the offender’s level of risk will provide an indication of the depth of enquiries necessary and also how structured and intensive an offender's release plan should be.
The probation officer must determine the offender's level of risk before commencing other parole assessment enquiries.
The level of risk an offender poses can be determined by reviewing:
- the offender’s RoC*RoI
- if they have been identified as a high risk offender (HRX)
- if they have been registered on the offender warning system (OWS)
- if they are a child sex offender, using the ASRS score provided by the psychologists
- if they are a child sex offender, who is being considered for or already subject to ES, using information from the senior operations advisor (extended supervision).
Parole history
Information about the offender’s parole history will primarily be obtained from IOMS records and closed CPPS files. Discussion with the previous supervising probation officer is also recommended where possible.
Enquire about the offender’s:
- previous releases on parole, home detention (HD) orders (not a HD sentence) or release on conditions, if any
- previous response to any such orders (eg, progress made, activities undertaken)
- previous non-compliance with, and enforcement action taken in relation to, any such orders (including breach and recall).
Accommodation
The probation officer must visit the proposed accommodation, and interview the occupants aged 16 years and over (if any).
Enquire about:
- the availability of the proposed address
- the nature and circumstances of the proposed address (eg, flat, family home, privately owned, rented, etc)
- details of the occupants of the proposed accommodation, including relationship to offender, age (if children), amount of time they have known the offender, etc
- whether the occupants pose any concerns regarding the offender's ability to successfully reintegrate and rehabilitate (eg, alcohol and other drug abuse, attitude to offending)
- whether the offender may pose a risk to the occupants or other members of the public in close vicinity to the proposed address.
If the offender is unable to propose suitable accommodation, the probation officer must determine whether the offender is eligible and should be considered for supported accommodation.
Additional enquiries must be carried out if there are concerns about the proposed accommodation or if the offender is:
- HRX
- OWS
- a child sex offender
- being considered for RR.
This will include liaison with other government agencies and criminal history checks. Additional enquiries are detailed in the following sections.
Housing New Zealand Tenancy Agreements
If an offender is proposing to move into a Housing New Zealand property where they are not the tenant for three months or more, the tenant must obtain permission.
Housing New Zealand tenants must obtain written approval from Housing New Zealand for anyone to live with them for three months or longer.
The probation officer must check if the tenancy agreement was granted after 22 February 2010. If it was, the probation officer must request a copy of the written approval from Housing New Zealand for the offender to live at that address.
It is the responsibility of the tenant to obtain a copy of the tenancy agreement and/or permission from Housing New Zealand for an offender to reside at the address.
Programmes
The probation officer will need to consider the offender’s identified rehabilitative needs and how they can be addressed if the offender is released.
PS will provide details about what rehabilitative needs have been identified and what programmes or type of programmes that could be considered.
Review the details provided by PS and consider:
- how the offender's identified rehabilitative needs (if any) can be addressed, if no specific proposals are put forward
- the offender's eligibility for any Department of Corrections programmes proposed
- the availability of Department of Corrections programmes in the area of the proposed release
- details of available programme/counselling delivered by external providers in the area of the proposed release
- details of any alternative programmes/counselling, if those proposed are unavailable or no programmes are proposed.
The details of any available programmes/counselling obtained should include:
- assessment and eligibility criteria
- full details of availability (eg, any information about waitlists and commencement dates)
- length and times
- objectives of the programme/counselling.
If psychological assessment or treatment is proposed or the offender is currently undertaking psychological treatment or assessment, then the probation officer must contact the CPPS psychologist.
Employment
The probation officer should contact the proposed employer to discuss the offender’s proposed employment. The offender must be made aware that the employer will be contacted.
Enquiries must include:
- the nature and availability of the proposed employment
- the attitude of proposed employer (if appropriate)
- whether there are any concerns for the safety of the offender
- whether the offender may pose a risk to other employees or other members of the public in close vicinity of the proposed employment
- the employment requirements (eg, appropriated driver's license, qualifications, safety clothing, etc)
- whether there are any concerns about the employment conflicting with special conditions (eg, programmes, non-association orders, RR).
If the offender has no employment proposed:
- canvass possible options for employment
- determine the offender's likely income source
- if practicable and available, provide options to address the offender's employment need (eg, referral to Work and Income, participation in basic work & living skills (BWLS) programmes).
Financial
This information about finances can usually be obtained from IOMS records, the offender’s support people or the sentence planner. Enquire about:
- any outstanding fines, reparation or debt the offender has
- the offender's ability to manage their finances, including whether any inability contributed towards their offending
- if relevant, details of any available interventions that may address the offender's inability to manage their finances efficiently (eg, budgeting advice and skills)
- any other financial concerns the offender may have.
Relationships
The probation officer should contact (in person or by telephone) whanau/family and significant others (as appropriate) to gather information about relationships. Enquire about whether:
- the offender is in a relationship, has children or has contact with their whanau/family
- any of the people who the offender has a close relationship with pose any concerns regarding the offender's ability to successfully reintegrate and rehabilitate (eg, alcohol and other drug abuse, attitude to offending)
- there are any concerns with any of the relationships the offender has
- there are any concerns the offender may have with managing relationships, past or current
- others have any concerns about the offender's ability to manage relationships
- a relationship need has been identified to be addressed, with details of available programme/counselling (eg, relationship counselling).
If the offender has current or previous convictions for child abuse or domestic violence and they plan to have frequent contact with children (under the age of 16 years), then additional enquiries will need to be made with Child, Youth and Family (CYF).
The probation officer should investigate whether there are any protection orders in place. If a protection order applies to any person the offender is proposing to reside with, the PO needs to include this information in the parole assessment report and consider whether the address is suitable.
Information about protection orders or any domestic violence issues can be obtained from local police.
Community Support
Interview (in person or by telephone) any proposed support people to gather this information.
Enquire about:
- the nature and details of the community support available
- the attitude of proposed support people
- whether the support people are known to the department
- whether the support people pose any concerns regarding the offender's ability to successfully reintegrate and rehabilitate (eg, alcohol and other drug abuse, attitude to offending).
If the offender does not have any community support:
- identify the level of support the offender may need
- canvass the options of the community support available for the offender in the local area
- consider whether a special condition is necessary to address this need.
Issues related to victims
Victim issues need to be considered in any release proposal. In some cases the victims will be registered on the victim notification register (VNR). In other cases victims may be identified through CPPS file information (reparation report, summary of facts, pre sentence report).
Enquiries must be made into potential issues related to the victim/s including:
- whether the nature of the offending suggests that the offender poses a risk to specified person/s or class of persons (eg, children)
- possible strategies that may mitigate any risk posed by the offender to past and/or potential victim/s, including any special conditions that may reduce the risk
- whether the victim is registered on the victim notification register (VNR).
The probation officer must always contact the local VNR coordinator if the victims are registered on the VNR to ascertain whether any victim issues exist.
If the victim's address is known, or the offender is subject to the VNR, the probation officer will need to consider:
- whether the proximity of the offender's proposed accommodation to the victim's address is of concern
- the likely risk the offender may pose to the victim/s or others (based on the nature of the offending).
Note: If the victim is registered on the VNR, the VNR coordinator will only comment on whether the proximity of the victim's address to the offender's proposed accommodation is of concern. If more details are necessary to make an appropriate risk assessment, the VNR coordinator will provide details to the area manager who will assess the suitability of the offender's proposed location of accommodation.
The NZPB will notify all victims registered on the VNR of the offender's pending parole hearing. For more information, go to Victim Notification System.
Health issues
Review offender file information and discuss with support people to find out if the offender has health issues.
Enquire about whether the offender has any health issues:
- that may prevent them from complying with standard and/or special conditions, and any options/strategies to mitigate this
- that may be considered as contributing to their offending (eg, mental health issues), and what interventions are available to reduce their risk of re-offending
- any special conditions are necessary to address identified health issues.
