Absences Without a Specified Purpose - Corrections Department NZ

Introduction

This topic outlines information about, and the procedure for, approving absences without a specified purpose.

Only offenders subject to HD may be granted absences without a specified purpose.

Legislative reference: Section 80C(5) Sentencing Act 2002.

Requirements for absences without a specified purpose

Absences without a specified purpose allow the probation officer to approve an absence without knowing the details of where the offender will be.

They are only available for offenders on HD who:

are subject to a HD sentence of 6 months or more
have served at least three quarters of their sentence, and
have complied with the requirements of the sentence and have progressed to phase 3.

Absences without a specified purpose may be granted for up to four hours a day for any or all days remaining to be served under the sentence.

Absences without a specified purpose may only be granted in accordance with the guiding principles outlined in this topic.

Aim of absences without a specified purpose

The aim of absences without a specified purpose is to enable an offender to begin the transition, after a substantial period on HD, to a situation whereby their whereabouts is no longer subject to the approval of a probation officer.

This is intended to assist with the transition to post detention conditions where the offender has more freedom than while they are subject to HD.

No entitlement to absences without a specified purpose

Absences without a specified purpose are not an entitlement.

Probation officers can and should withdraw approval in the event that:

an offender does not comply with the requirements of the absence (e.g. does not return at or before the specified time), or
the probation officer has reason to believe that the offender has breached one or more of the conditions of their HD during the authorised absence (e.g. consumed alcohol when they have a special condition prohibiting the consumption of alcohol).

Guiding principles

All requests for absences without a specified purpose must be considered, approved and managed in accordance with the guiding principles outlined in the following table.

Principle	Description
eligibility of offender	The offender must be eligible for this type of absence. This means they must: be subject to a HD sentence of 6 months or more have served at least three quarters of their sentence, and have complied with the requirements of the sentence and progressed to phase 3.
timing of absence	All absences without a specified purpose must be between the hours of 7am and 9:30pm. Note: This means the offender must return to the HD residence by 9:30pm.
relationship of absence to other approved absences	Absences without a specified purpose are not to be approved for times immediately before or after an approved absence for a specific purpose (e.g. attendance at a programme). Service managers can authorise adjacent absences, but only in exceptional circumstances. If the service manager gives this approval, the offender???s presence at the approved location during the standard approved absence (i.e. the absence with a specified purpose) must be confirmed at a time close to the transition to, or from, the absence without a specified purpose.
duration of absence	All absences without a specified purpose must be for a maximum of four hours. Initially, shorter absences should be approved to allow compliance with absences without a specified purpose to be established before the offender is permitted to progress to longer absences. Longer absences (e.g. 2-4 hours) should not be approved on days where the offender already has a substantial period of time away from the residence on approved absences for a specified purpose (e.g. employment).
frequency of absences	Absences without a specified purpose can be approved on all or any days during the eligible period. Approval should only be granted for a limited number of days initially, and consideration should be given to approving regular periods once compliance is established.

Direction Notice for Approved Absence

The probation officer should complete and issue a Direction Notice for Approved Absence for any approved absences without a specified purpose.

However, the probation officer is not required to limit the offender???s whereabouts or actions during an absence without a specified purpose. Therefore, the probation officer should:

record that the absence is for no specific purpose in accordance with section 80C(5) of the Sentencing Act 2002 in the Direction Notice for an Approved Absence
clearly state on the Direction Notice that the absence is for no specific purpose and does not require a location or travel route.

The offender is required to have the Direction Notice for Approved Absence and their sentence/order licence on their person at all times during the absence.

Monitoring requirements

There is no requirement to monitor an offender while they are on an approved absence without a specified purpose.

Advise the monitoring company

The monitoring company must be advised of all absences without a specified purpose:

in writing
during business hours, and
at least 24 hours prior to the absence occurring

To advise the monitoring company, use either an:

Electronic Monitoring Weekly Curfew Schedule form (EMF01), or
Electronic Monitoring Temporary Curfew form (EMF02).