F.17 Mixing accused prisoners with convicted / sentenced prisoners to attend non-offence based programme
F.17.01 Mixing for non-offence based programmes
Under the Corrections Regulations 2005, accused prisoners may mix with other prisoners (convicted / sentenced) for the purposes of attending a non-offence based programme.
- Non-offence based programmes are defined in the Corrections Act 2004 as programmes designed to assist reintegration into the community, for example:
- medical, social, therapeutic, psychological, te ao Māori, cultural, educational, employment-related, religion-based, or reintegrative programmes.
- Mixing accused prisoners with sentenced prisoners for non-offence based programmes is an add-on to existing programme scheduling processes and requires additional considerations.
- The [F.17.Form.01 Suitability to mix assessment for non-offence based programmes] is only to assess and approve or decline the prisoner for a specified programme and this is not a blanket approval. A suitability to mix assessment must be completed for each accused prisoner per programme.
- Approval for an accused prisoner to mix with others while participating in a non-offence based programme sits with the general manager custodial, all supporting information from relevant stakeholders to support the final decision is required as per the [F.17.Form.01 Suitability to mix assessment for non-offence based programmes].
F.17.02 Considerations and information for decision making
Consent from the accused prisoner must be gained before engaging stakeholders for input, this should be from the prisoner’s case manager, case officer or from whomever is recommending the programme to the prisoner. The consent form should be uploaded to the prisoner’s IOMS under Rehabilitation/Re-integration > Programmes/counselling documents, and also supplied to the General Manager Custodial with the [F.17.Form.01 Suitability to mix assessment for non-offence based programmes].
There must be documented information from relevant stakeholders to assess any risk that may be posed with mixing an accused prisoner with sentenced or convicted prisoners to participate in a non-offence based programme.
The [F.17.Form.01 Suitability to mix assessment for non-offence based programmes] is to be used to collect information and must be circulated to relevant stakeholders for input.
Collected information will assist the general manager custodial to consider the request and make an informed decision.
The information collection process to complete the [F.17.Form.01 Suitability to mix assessment for non-offence based programmes] must be driven by the prisoner’s case manager or case officer.
The below information is included in the [F.17.Form.01 Suitability to mix assessment for non-offence based programmes]: Unit staff observations, behaviours and compliance, misconducts and incidents, relevant alerts, any issues that may impact mixing for the purpose of attending a non-offence based programme. Any risks identified that may impact mixing, any risks with other prisoners.
| Information / Input Required | By who? |
|---|---|
| Prisoner information, court date, gang status, RMT status and level, name of programme, number of participants, programme facilitator, programme location. | Case Manager, Principal Case Manager, Case Officer |
| Categories of and classifications of prisoners the accused prisoner will be mixing with. | Case Manager, Principal Case Manager |
| Is the accused prisoner able to complete the programme without the need to mix with sentenced prisoners? | Case Manager, Principal Case Manager |
| Has consent to mix been received, motivation and reintegration needs identified and how the programme will promote the accused prisoner’s reintegration back into the community been established? | Case Manager, Principal Case Manager |
| Unit staff observations, behaviours and compliance, misconducts and incidents, relevant alerts, any issues that may impact mixing for the purpose of attending a non-offence based programme. | Case Officer, Principal Corrections Officer |
| Any risks identified that may impact mixing, any risks with other prisoners. | Intelligence |
| Other information input from psychological services, health services, Pou Arahi etc. | Psych, Health, other people identified to feed into the assessment |
| Review of information, summary and any risks identified. How will any identified risks be managed. Is the mixing supported or not supported by the Custodial Systems Manager or Security Manager. | Custodial Systems Manager, Security Manager |
| General manager custodial consideration and opinion for supporting or rejecting the application. | General Manager Custodial |
| Approval to mix accused prisoner for the purpose of non-offence based programmes. | General Manager Custodial |
Note: There may be other factors to take into consideration that are specific to each prison site, such as where is the programme being facilitated, and what logistics are there in getting the accused prisoner to and from the programme.
Once all information from relevant stakeholders has been inputted into the assessment, this must be sent to the Custodial Systems Manager or Security Manager for their input and assessment.
The Custodial Systems Manager or Security Manager summarises any risks identified, and how any identified risks will be mitigated or managed, and whether they support the application to mix or not.
The Custodial Systems Manager or Security Manager then submits the assessment and their recommendations to the general manager custodial for their consideration.
 | The accused prisoner must be consulted with by their case manager or case officer and consent to mixing with other sentenced or convicted prisoners to participate in a non-offence related programme. The consent form must be uploaded to the prisoner’s IOMS under Rehabilitation/Re-integration > Programmes/counselling documents. |
F.17.03 Recommendation decisions
When a decision has been made by general manager custodial, this must be promptly communicated to the prisoner, case manager, case officer and programme facilitator.
Decision to mix declined:
- If the decision is declined,he prisoners case officer or case manager must:
- Inform the prisoner of the decision promptly.
- Add a file note to the prisoner’s IOMS indicating that the decision has been declined.
Decision to mix approved:
- If the decision is approved, the prisoner’s case officer or case manager must:
- Inform the prisoner of the decision promptly.
- Add a file note to the prisoner’s IOMS indicating the approval to mix with others has been approved for participation on the non-offence related programme, and what programme this is.
- Upload the Consent to Mix form to the prisoner’s IOMS under Rehabilitation/Re-integration > Programmes/counselling documents.
- Inform the sites scheduling coordinator that the prisoner can now be scheduled to attend the programme.
F.17.04 Prisoner withdraws consent to mix
A prisoner may withdraw their consent to mix for the purpose of attending a specific programme, at any time. This must be documented via offender notes and on the relevant [F.17.Form.01 Suitability to mix assessment for non-offence based programmes]
If a prisoner withdraws their consent to mix for a specific programme, this must be indicated as a file note in IOMS, and the top section of [F.17.Form.01 Suitability to mix assessment for non-offence based programmes] indicating the consent has been withdrawn. This must be uploaded to IOMS.
F.17.05 Requests for information
Prisoners may request under the Privacy Act 2020 why their application has been approved/refused. Reasonable access must be given to this information following the C.09 Prisoner internal information process. Information such as intelligence information, or non-associations may be withheld or refused pursuant the Privacy Act if deemed appropriate.