PS - The Parole Assessment Report Interview

PS activities

The tables below outline the steps that occur prior to the parole assessment interview.

Step	Action	Responsibility
1	Generate a list of names of offenders appearing for a parole hearing (four months prior to the hearing) and request a sentence plan review from the units for offenders: appearing for a subsequent hearing who do not have a completed pre- release planning worksheet (PRP worksheet) such as an offender whose parole end date (PED) is within 8 months of sentence completion date (SCD).	NZPB liaison officer
2	Discuss the prisoner waiver form with the offender. Unit principal corrections officer	Unit principal corrections officer (PCO)
3	Complete an offender plan review if requested to do so by the NZPB liaison officer or PCO sentence planning for any reason.	Case officer
4	Allocate the parole assessment report to a sentence planner.	PCO sentence planning
Sentence planner – follow these steps to prepare for the parole assessment interview
5	Review the offender plan, file and PS/CPPS PRP worksheet (SMP.6.F5). The PRP worksheet is designed for sentence planners to use during the preparation for interview of an offender. It can be used during the review of the offender’s file to decide what information you need to: obtain from file information ask at interview obtain by enquiry. Note: A PRP worksheet can be completed for offenders without a worksheet (ie, whose PED is within 8 months of SCD).
6	Check the following sections of the parole assessment report and follow up any missing information: current personal details offences and sentences prison history.
7	Has the offender attended one or more of the following: Tikanga Maori Short motivational programme Rehabilitation programme (MIRP, MTP, Saili Matagi, Kowhiritanga, Focus) Special treatment unit (KM/TP, VPU, STURP, ASOTP) Drug treatment unit programme Maintenance programme. Note: Partial attendance only may be sufficient if there is enough feedback on their response to the programme. Compare the information from the ‘rehabilitation’ section of the PRP worksheet and update accordingly: If yes, go to step 8. If no, determine the possible reason(s) for the offending behavior, and consider what they may need to do to address the behaviour.
8	Use pen to identify any updates to PRP worksheet (typed information) and any additional information since then.
9	For offenders who do not have a completed PRP worksheet, complete the residential restrictions (RR) checklist

Sentence Planner - conducting the interview

The table below contains the steps to take to conduct the parole assessment interview.

Stage	Steps to follow	Relevant document
Introduction/ consent	Open interview. Build rapport. Ensure the offender has a clear understanding of the parole assessment /NZPB process, including timings.	SMP.6.F4 Prepare for release interview checklist
Discussion	Clarify or confirm information in the current personal circumstances, offences and sentences and prison history sections of the report. Check outstanding offences and, if relevant, possible community-based sentences to follow.	Relevant sections of the report
Rehabilitation	Clarify information and cover any gaps in information on responses to: - sentence - interventions - relapse prevention - other rehabilitation activities, eg, literacy. For any future programmes, check motivation to continue. If a behaviour shift is indicated in file information, clarify evidence.	PS/CPPS Pre-release planning worksheet (SMP.6.F5) Questions prepared using worksheet (SMP.6.F5) File information
Additional or ongoing interventions	Gather information relevant to the release proposal. Confirm information in the PS/CPPS PRP worksheet and note any changes. Discuss programmes and evaluate: - current level of motivation to attend - possible barriers. Check on level of priority assigned to interventions.	Questions prepared using worksheet (SMP.6.F5) PS/CPPS Pre-release planning worksheet (SMP.6.F5)
Discussion on reintegrative needs	Confirm reintegrative proposal as per PRP worksheet. Check issues that require further action, eg, - risks within the reintegration proposal - requirements for special conditions. Complete RR checklist (for full reports if it has not previously been completed or the offender did not complete the POI6, and for reports if RR has been recommended by the NZPB)	Questions prepared using worksheet (SMP.6.F5) PS/CPPS Pre-release planning worksheet (SMP.6.F5) Residential restrictions checklist
Cover any gaps	Fill any remaining gaps. Gain consent to contact other parties to complete enquiries.	Questions prepared using worksheet
End interview	Feedback key points and confirm the offender’s understanding. Provide information on what happens next.	Prepare for release interview checklist(SMP.6.F4)

Drafting the reports

After completing the interview with the offender, the sentence planner must draft the report. Good reports are:

evidence based/objective
accurate
up-to-date
relevant
unambiguous
non-repetitive.

The table below outlines the different sections of the reports and the information that should be included in them.

Section	Information
Behaviour & attitude (full; second & sub)	Describe the offender’s pattern of behavior since coming into prison (or since the last report for subsequent reports). Supporting evidence may include: changes to offender category, with reasons changes to security classification, with reasons a summary of incidents and misconducts prisoner transfers for security/behavioural reasons. Also include comments on: education and employment drug use and changes to IDU status. Note: Quotes from file notes, offender plan reviews and staff can be used as evidence to support comments but must be relevant, clear and concise. If the comment doesn’t make sense, or is poorly spelt, do not quote it directly, refer to it instead eg, staff comments indicate…
Rehabilitation summary (full; second & sub)	Link programmes completed to appropriate offending needs. Where needs have not been met, clearly state this. Provide brief comments about the aims/content of the programme and clearly outline the offender’s progress.
Rehabilitation/ reintegration summary (full; second & sub)	When completing the rehabilitation & reintegration summaries of progress, comment on why a need was identified and what progress has been made to address these needs. Under proposed further activity, comment on: if in prison… if released… (this may be to attend as directed by CPPS) why this further activity has been identified.
Release proposal (full; second & sub)	When completing comments in the release proposal it is not necessary to write in a report format, bullet points are sufficient and you can refer the probation officer to comments made in the PS section of the report. Comments should offer sufficient detail for CPPS to know clearly what needs to be checked out and what the issues are likely to be. There should be an indication of how the gains, if any, in prison will best be supported on release. Note: The Nine (G9) Score, and if referred, any progress made to address the problem, is recorded in the ‘Health Issues’ section of the release proposal in the parole assessment report. All parole assessment reports going out to CPPS must have the following information in the accommodation section of the release proposal: - offender has been canvassed for RR and has signed the Offender Agreement Form or - offender has been canvassed for RR but has not signed the Offender Agreement Form or - offender has not been canvassed for RR or - the NZPB has recommended that RR be canvassed and the offender has signed the Offender Agreement Form or - the NZPB has recommended that RR be canvassed but the offender has not signed the Offender Agreement Form or - the NZPB has not recommended RR.
Progress made against recommendations (second & sub) & response from the Department (specific)	Print out a copy of the NZPB decision and comment against each recommendation made. This may mean it is not necessary to comment again, later in the report, about progress against a particular area (instead you can refer the reader back to your earlier comments).
Other relevant factors (second sub)	Comment on any significant factors, change in circumstances, or incorrect information should be relevant to the NZPB’s decision making and give the reason why. If there is no additional relevant information, then it is reasonable to leave this section blank.

Information relating to the hearing

If the sentence planner has any information that is likely to have an impact on a offender’s parole hearing but does not have any hard evidence of this information they should:

investigate further, and up to the highest level (prison manager) to substantiate the known information.
not disregarded this information simply because there is no evidence without further investigation.

The prison manager and manager sentence planning will determine what information goes in the report where there is no hard evidence. The prison manager may send a separate report directly to the NZPB. CPIC may write a separate report to the NZPB.

Checking the draft

Once the sentence planner has drafted the report, the following steps should be followed to check the draft.

Step	Action
1	Use the Parole Assessment Report Quality Checklist to ensure completeness of the draft.
2	Pass the draft report to the PCO/supervisor for quality review.
3	At this stage, you have the option of discussing the release proposal with the offender. You would do this when you need further clarification on any part of the report.
4	Generate an IOMs enquiry so CPPS are aware the report is ready for their input. Advise the PO if a psychological service report has been requested for the upcoming appearance. If RR is being canvassed and the offender has signed the offender agreement, retain a copy on file and send the original signed agreement to CPPS.

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