I.06 Complete arrival administration

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These procedures ensure that all reception procedures have been completed, prisoner records are updated, and the Electoral Commission have received a prisoner's enrolment details or notification of the prisoner's sentence (if disqualified from voting).

I.06.01 Update or create prisoner general file

  1. Receiving office staff must complete the I.06.Form.01 Reception information checklist, confirming that all reception procedures have been completed.
  2. Receiving office staff are responsible for ensuring that all IOMS generated forms have been printed and both IOMS and local forms have been signed by the appropriate delegated officer, if required.
  3. Receiving office staff must create a new general prisoner file for all new arrivals (sentence and remand), or update existing files, for prisoners on transfer or who have an existing file from a previous sentence as per POM C.03 Prisoner general file management.
  4. If a prison has been forwarded victim impact reports, they are to be immediately shredded.
  5. The reception/movements manager must check the file and all documents and sign the I.06.Form.01 Reception information checklist, confirming that all the procedures have been completed.

I.06.02 Receipt of Judge’s Sentencing Notes

  1. Judge's Sentencing Notes are read on receipt and checked against Warrant of commitment information that has been loaded onto IOMS, with any anomalies checked with the appropriate Court as soon as possible.
  2. The Department has an 'Agreement of Services' with the Department of Courts that all Judge's Sentencing Notes will be provided to prisons within 10 days. It is a requirement that sites ensure that this agreement is implemented at a local level. Sentencing notes are required for a number of reasons, including: sentence planning and offender management, administration of the sentence and management of offenders at-risk to themselves.
  3. If the Judge’s Sentencing Notes have not been received within the 10 day period, the receiving office must enquire of the Court as to when the Sentencing Notes will be provided.

I.06.03 Prisoner voting - enrolment / disqualification

  1. Receiving officer staff must engage with all prisoners regarding their eligibility to register to vote as part of the reception process once sentenced.

    Watch Point

    1. To be eligible to vote prisoners need to:

    1. be 18 years or older
    2. be a New Zealand Citizen or permanent resident of New Zealand, and
    3. have lived in New Zealand for more than one year continuously at some time in their life
    4. be sentenced to less than 3 years imprisonment.
  2. To be eligible to vote prisoners need to:
    1. be 18 yest or older, and
    2. be a New Zealand Citizen or permanent resident of New Zealand, and
    3. have lived in New Zealand for more than one year continuously at some time in their life
    4. be sentenced to less than 3 years imprisonment.
  3. The receiving officer must discuss with eligible prisoners:
    1. their ability to register to vote and encourage enrolment
    2. their ability to apply to have their details secure on the unpublished roll.
  4. If the prisoner wished to register / apply, assist the prisoner to complete the necessary forms for the electoral commission.
  5. To assist with supporting prisoner applications to go on the unpublished roll, staff can use template I.06.Form.03 Supporting information for unpublished roll application, to help gather required information.
  6. The receiving officer is to submit a prisoner's completed forms to the Electoral Commission.
  7. Details of the enrolment opportunity provided, outcome and any follow up required by unit staff is to be recorded as part of the prisoner's Receiving File Note in IOMS.

    Consideration

    Completed forms for a prisoner can be scanned and emailed to: pselectoral@elections.org.nz

    or posted to:

    Electoral Commission
    FREEPOST 2 ENROL
    PO Box 190
    Wellington 6140


    Watch Point

    If any prisoner does not want to enrol at the first opportunity, ensure that they are provided with all relevant enrolment information and copies of the relevant Electoral Commission forms.

    Follow up with the prisoner regarding their enrolment is required in a reasonable timeframe and must be detailed in the prisoner's Receiving File Note in IOMS for unit staff to action.

  8. Receiving officer must complete the I.06.Form.02 Notification of sentence to Electoral Commission and must forward it to the Chief Registrar within 7 days of the prisoner's reception. This form is completed in every case where a prisoner is sentenced to imprisonment of three years or more, life and preventive detention.

I.06.04 Receiving Remand Prisoners with No Contact Conditions (NCC)

  1. A court may impose a no contact condition (NCC) when a prisoner who is charged with a family violence offence is remanded into custody. The court provides the contact and address details of the specified person(s) not to be contacted in a Notice of No Contact to Prison Director. The notice will be sent by email from the court to the prison receiving office.
  2. The contact details of the specified person(s) must not be provided to the prisoner. No contact is to be permitted with any person named in the NCC unless specified in the direction by the court.
  3. On receiving a copy of the Notice of No Contact to Prison Director,
    1. the details of the specified person(s) must be entered into the IOMS - Remand - No Contact Persons screen, and
    2. the contact number of the specified person(s) must be entered into PTCCS as a prohibited number (against the individual, not global) and
    3. if the specified person(s) is an approved visitor, their application status must be changed to prohibited and the reason recorded as “NCC”.
  4. Once entered in IOMS Remand - No Contact Persons screen, an IOMS ALERT type “Remand No Contact Condition” will be created by IOMS automatically.

    Watch Point

    The alert end date must be checked (and amended if required) to ensure it is the same as the next court date.

    Contact or address details of the specified person(s) must not be entered into any file notes or the IOMS alert - these must be entered into the IOMS - Remand - No Contact Persons screen only.

  5. The receiving office must notify unit staff of the NCC. Unit staff must advise the prisoner of the NCC and explain the NCC, including the consequences of breaching the NCC. Unit staff must File a Note in IOMS, under Receiving > Remand titles, that this advice has been provided.

    collaboration

    The prisoner must be advised that:

    • All forms of contact are prohibited under a NCC unless the judge has given a specific provision for a specific type of contact.
    • If a breach occurs, the Police and Court Registrar will be notified and the prisoners next court day may be brought forward.
    • The breach may be included in their permanent court record which may be considered in a later application for bail.
  6. The NCC no longer applies when the prisoner has appeared in court again as directed in the remand warrant, which the NCC is attached to.
  7. If the prisoner is remanded into custody again, on the same charge, the NCC can be directed, again, by the court.

    Watch Point 

    Where the NCC no longer applies, and the court has not issued a new NCC, staff must remove / delete specified person(s) contact details held electronically by:

    • removing telephone contact details from PTCCS prohibited list
    • remove details held in the Remand screen in IOMS
    • changing the visitors status from prohibited to its original status
    • check the 'Remand No Contact Condition' alert has been de-activated.

    Only IOMS information regarding details of the person not to be contacted in the remand | No Contact Persons screen must be removed. Other IOMS information such as Incident reports, file notes and hard copy (paper-based) material such as scanned directions, and breach notification forms must not be removed, deleted or amended.

    Hard copy documents must be retained on the penal file.

  8. Should the person in prison request their file or there is an OIA request, the specified person(s) contact details will be removed or redacted.
  9. If in any doubt about the application of any NCC, contact the Registrar of the Court managing the case to clarify the status of the NCC.
  10. The process for prisoners who breach the NCC is detailed in section IR.06.08.Notification of breach of a no contact condition (NCC).