Interview and Enquiry Process

The purpose of the interview with the offender is to obtain information for the ES special conditions report, including information about mitigating risks and managing compliance with special conditions.

This topic covers what to do before, during and after the interview, as well as further enquiries to be made.

Before the interview

Follow these steps before interviewing the offender.

Step

Action

Collect and review all relevant documents with a view to identifying risks and potential special conditions. Refer to:

offending and sentence details
the ES psychological health assessment report
CPPS and prison files, including pre-sentence and parole assessment reports
IOMS offender records, and
previous psychological reports.

Review compliance and/or non-compliance with current or previous community based sentences/orders.

Liaise with the following people as appropriate to obtain further information:

prison staff
previous probation officer/s
relevant community organisations/programme providers, e.g. STOP
police, and
Child, Youth and Family (CYF).

Consult with the psychologist writing the ES psychological special conditions report. (If you don't know who this is, call the ES coordinator). Discuss:

the offender's level of risk and identified risk factors
special conditions being considered to reduce and manage these risks, and
current and future treatment needs.

Advise the service manager of potential recommendations. Discuss the level of identified risks and interview questions which could clarify the range of special conditions required to mitigate the risk of re-offending.

Finish preparing for the interview by:

noting risks and potential special conditions, and
adding any further questions to the ES special conditions report interview checklist.

During the interview

During the interview, go through the items on the ES special conditions report interview checklist. This includes:

providing the offender with information about the:
- purpose of the report
- interview, and
- limits of confidentiality
seeking the offender's consent to speak to support people and their employer
canvassing with the offender about the issues to be covered in the report, including:
- risk factors
- response to community-based sentences
- accommodation
- employment/activities
- support people
- victim issues
- treatment/programmes, and
- special conditions, and
asking any further questions noted while preparing for the interview.

After the interview

After the interview follow these steps to conduct further enquiries.

Step	Action
1	If the offender has consented, contact the: offender's support people, occupants of the accommodation, and offender's employer. If the offender has not consented, consider whether it would be appropriate to contact these people under Privacy Principle 2 in the Privacy Act 1993 in consultation with the service manager. Discuss with support people the: level and nature of support for offender, and knowledge of offending, risk and risk mitigation strategies.
2	Conduct enquiries in relation to accommodation as set out in the next topic. This includes a: physical check of the current or proposed accommodation and its surrounds, and check of the occupants of the current or proposed accommodation.
3	If there is a victim notification register (VNR) alert on the offender's file, contact the local VNR coordinator and discuss potential victim issues.
4	Contact the relevant psychologist to: review all relevant information, and discuss proposed special conditions.
5	Discuss proposed special conditions with the service manager.

Additional requirements if offender is in prison

If the offender is still in prison, then:

ensure that accommodation is arranged prior to release. Where possible, a back-up accommodation plan should be created in case the accommodation becomes unavailable at short notice.
if possible, visit the offender one week prior to release to confirm release plan and travel details.

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