Our story

Corrections was formed in 1995 on the principles of rehabilitation and public safety – which remain at the core of what we do.

The formation of Corrections has developed alongside beliefs and trends that have influenced crime and punishment in New Zealand since early colonial times. Read about the history of prisons and corrections services in New Zealand on Te Ara, The Encyclopedia of New Zealand.

Today Corrections employs 11,000 staff working in 200 locations across the country, including 17 prisons, Community Corrections sites, and corporate offices.

We manage around 11,000 people in prison and 24,000 people serving a sentence or order in the community.

Rehabilitation

We work to address the reasons people turn to crime, such as a lack of education, a history of violence and abuse, drug and alcohol addiction, joblessness and homelessness. In New Zealand between 52-56% of people in prison are Māori, so working with Māori to help people lead a crime-free life is a strong focus.

The majority of people in prison are serving short sentences of less than two years. The fact is most prisoners will return to the community at some stage, so it’s essential for us to ease their transition back into society and support people so they do not return to crime.

Corrections provides a number of treatment programmes and specialist care units to help people turn their lives around. We also partner with community groups, iwi and organisations that have expertise in the areas we know make the biggest difference.

Working with people to ensure they receive the help they need to stop offending reduces the risk they pose to the public and makes our communities safer places to be.

Education and employment

We know that people with education and training, who are in work, are less likely to offend. However, for many offenders having a criminal history and a limited education makes it hard to find a job. Currently only 33% of people in prison have a qualification at NCEA Level 1 or above. Past research suggests that 10% of people in prison have literacy and numeracy levels below an average 12-year-old.

Corrections provides people in prison with education, training, and employment. This helps them to return to their communities with the right foundations for participation and aims to address some of the factors that may have contributed to them coming into the system.

We support people in prison to gain an NCEA qualification through distance learning with Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu, or to gain a qualification through our partnerships with a range of tertiary education providers. Learners who meet eligibility criteria are supported to enrol in higher level certificate, diploma, or degree courses.

To further support people’s employment prospects, we offer a range of vocational training through industry qualification training, and short course certificates and licensing. Corrections partners with employers to support prisoners into employment once they leave prison.