CW is a sentence that requires an offender to complete a specified number of hours of unpaid work, in order to make reparation for crimes committed or as punishment. Offenders may complete this work under the direct supervision of:
CW can be combined with any other sentence (except imprisonment).
There are no special conditions available, so the court cannot require the offender to attend rehabilitation programmes or impose restrictions other than the requirement to complete CW.
Note: Under the new legislation the court can authorise the conversion of CW hours to hours spent on training in basic work & living skills (BWLS).
In most parts of the country, CW is available six or seven days each week. This means that CW can be scheduled around the offender’s other commitments, such as employment or childcare. Offenders are encouraged to complete their hours as quickly as possible, and in a regular pattern, for example every Tuesday or every Saturday.
This will be an even greater focus now that the legislation requires the offender to complete 100 hours in every six month period.
Probation officers can and do apply a number of sanctions to offenders who do not comply with the requirements of CW. In the event that these sanctions are not effective, or in cases of serious or ongoing non-compliance, the probation officer will lay a breach charge against the offender.
It is expected that CD (for example a curfew to be imposed immediately before scheduled CW hours) will increasingly be sought as the outcome of breach action, rather than more CW hours or imprisonment.
Many offenders are sentenced to CW without the court having considered a pre-sentence report. If a pre-sentence report is requested, and the probation officer considers CW to be a likely sentencing option, a short report will be completed.
In a short report the probation officer outlines key factors relating to the offender. These include:
There is no assessment of an offender’s BWLS requirements at the pre-sentencing stage. These assessments are completed after sentencing, for offenders for whom the court has authorised the conversion of hours into training in BWLS.
Legislative reference: Section 66A Sentencing Act 2002.
An offender commencing a sentence of CW will be assessed to determine whether they will complete their hours on:
If the court has authorised training under section 66A of the Sentencing Act 2002, the offender will also be assessed to determine whether they have a BWLS need that can be met locally and within the term of the sentence.
Before they start to undertake CW, the offender is given detailed information about the requirements of the sentence (known as induction). This includes training in:
They are also advised of all the rules and requirements associated with completing CW hours, and of the consequences of non-compliance.
Many not-for-profit organisations work with the Department of Corrections to offer agency placements for offenders serving CW, for example:
In most cases the agency supervises one or two offenders at any one time, although some supervise more.
While on agency placements, offenders use skills they already have and learn new ones. They may use clerical skills help with administrative tasks, or put their trade skills such as gardening, painting, or building to good use.
Example: One offender placed at a Northland rest home was trained in laundry work and was later offered a full time job.
The details of each placement are agreed between the agency, the Department of Corrections and the offender. A probation officer will issue the offender with an instruction to report (ITR) at the appropriate time and place, for each day to be spent with the agency. An approved member of the agency reports on the offender’s attendance and performance.
Agency placements are targeted at offenders who are:
Agency placements are made available only to those who are assessed as likely to comply with the requirements of the sentence. Failure to report as directed, or to work to a reasonable standard for the agency, will result in the offender being transferred to a centre placement.
If an offender is allocated to a centre placement they carry out their CW in a group of approximately 8 to 10 offenders. This is under the direct supervision of a community work supervisor employed by the Department of Corrections.
CW crews have:
A probation officer will issue the offender with an ITR for each day they are to undertake CW. Offenders usually meet at the relevant service centre and are transported by mini-bus or van to the site at which the work is to be undertaken. The community work supervisor reports on each offender’s attendance and performance.
If an offender fails to carry out CW to the satisfaction of a probation officer, the probation officer will refuse to count some or all of the hours of work carried out that day. If the offender continually fails to work in a satisfactory manner, formal enforcement action will be taken.
The Department of Corrections is exploring a range of training in BWLS that may be used for the conversion of CW hours. In the short term, training will be limited to:
In the longer term, the Department of Corrections plans to extend this to include a wide range of courses such as those relating to parenting, budgeting and numeracy.
If conversion of hours has been approved, but assessment of the offender does not identify any needs that can be met by available programmes, the offender will be required to complete all hours as CW.
If the range of programmes available locally increases, cases will be reviewed to identify offenders who may benefit from the new programmes. If a probation officer considers that an offender would significantly benefit from a locally available programme, but conversion of hours has not been approved, they may make an application to the court to have the conversion of hours approved.
If an offender fails to fully complete a training programme, none of the hours that were completed as training will be counted as CW hours. The offender will be required to complete further CW hours to meet the shortfall.
Offenders are required to report as directed. Offenders are only required to report in order to carry out CW hours at an agency or centre placement, with the exception of:
There are no additional routine requirements to report to the service centre.
If the offender’s circumstances change, it is essential that they advise their probation officer immediately. The probation officer will be able to advise the offender of the appropriate course of action to take.
If an offender’s employment or child-care arrangements change, the probation officer can adjust the days on which the offender is required to report to carry out CW.
Example: If the offender is offered employment on a fishing trawler, arrangements can be made for them to report several times a week in the weeks prior to and following the period to be spent on the trawler.
If an offender wishes to shift to another area, the probation officer will investigate the proposal and determine whether another service centre can take over the management of the sentence, including:
Failure to discuss the proposed changes with a probation officer could result in enforcement action being taken against the offender, for failing to comply with their sentence.
If an offender fails to comply with one or more requirements of the sentence without good reason, enforcement action will be taken against them. Before taking any such action, the probation officer will investigate the circumstances of the non-compliance in order to determine whether or not there was a good reason for it, and will require independent evidence of such a reason.
Example: A medical emergency would require evidence from the medical staff involved.
There is a wide range of enforcement action available and applied for instances of non-compliance. Lower level breaches are dealt with by internal sanctions such as:
More serious instances of non-compliance are dealt with by means of an application to the court. According to the severity of the non-compliance this could involve formally charging the offender with a breach of their conditions or applying to cancel the sentence of CW and substitute it with an alternative sentence.
In addition to current penalties (particularly the imposition of additional CW hours) we expect to recommend sentences from the punitive elements of the hierarchy – CD or HD.
Example: If an offender breaches his or her sentence by repeatedly failing to report to complete CW hours, a sentence of CD could be imposed. This would be designed such that the offender is subject to a curfew the night before they are scheduled to report for CW.
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