Annual Report 2009/10

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Chief Executive's overview

I am pleased to present this year’s Annual Report, my final as the Department’s Chief Executive. I am proud to say that the 2009/10 year has seen the Department make considerable progress to improve both our service delivery and overall performance. Our focus over the past year has been on continuing to improve public safety by ensuring that:

  • offenders comply with sentences and orders;
  • re-offending is reduced through rehabilitation and
    reintegration programmes;
  • offenders are managed safely and humanely; and
  • victims of crime are supported.

Our ability to deliver on these outcomes has been shaped by a number of factors, including demand pressures within the justice system and the need to continuously build our capability and capacity to manage these pressures in a cost-effective and efficient way.

We progressed improvements in organisational efficiency and excellence through multiple work streams under the umbrella of The Way Forward performance improvement programme. These initiatives span a three-year period and include realignment of internal structures, the redesign of service delivery, improving corporate performance and support to the frontline, and delivering cost efficiencies.

We developed an agreed set of principles for how we will approach rehabilitation and reintegration and our focus is now on how we apply these principles to offender management. The Rehabilitation and Reintegration Services group has also been established to bring the mechanisms for delivery of all interventions and services under a single service. The new service will support pathways out of offending by refining the approach used with offenders to ensure the most appropriate interventions are delivered at the best time across an offender’s sentence.

Managing the increasing offender population continued to be a high priority for the Department throughout the year. The prison population peaked at an all time high of 8,816 prisoners on 30 June 2010. According to the Justice Sector Prison Population Forecast the prison population is forecast to reach 10,314 by 30 June 2017.

In response, we have undertaken significant design and planning work to increase prison capacity. Double bunking has been increased at Northland Region Corrections Facility, Spring Hill Corrections Facility and Otago Corrections Facility. Increased double bunking will also commence shortly at Auckland Region Women’s Corrections Facility. We opened a new 60-bed unit constructed out of converted shipping containers at Rimutaka Prison.

The Department made significant progress on Contract Management of Prisons and Public Private Partnership projects in 2009/10. A request for proposal has been issued for the contract management of Mt Eden / Auckland Central Remand Prison and work has started on a proposed new 1,000-bed male prison at Wiri that is expected to be designed, built and operated under a public-private partnership.

These capacity initiatives are large and complex programmes of work requiring significant investment in programme resources and controls, and robust governance.

The Community Probation Plan to Improve Compliance with Procedures for Managing Parole Orders has been finished with all 46 specific actions completed, in addition to the 20 recommendations from the Auditor General’s 2009 report. Work to improve compliance with community sentences has seen improvements across the majority of community-based sentences and orders being served in the community. The Department also started the implementation of the Community Probation Services Change Programme 2009-12 this year. Phase one and two of the new parole standards will be completed before the end of December 2010.

Over the year, we also continued to progress a number of initiatives and projects to enhance rehabilitation interventions and services, specifically increasing the number of prisoners receiving them. Increasing the number of prisoners able to receive drug and alcohol treatment from 500 to 1,000 by the end of next year is well on track with the establishment of three new Drug Treatment Units. The Otago Corrections Facility Drug Treatment Unit was opened in March, and units at Auckland and Wanganui Prisons are due to be completed by next year.

We also made significant progress in advancing the Government’s commitment to increasing prisoner skills and employment, and expanding the provision of literacy and numeracy education in prisons. The Prisoner Skills and Employment Strategy 2009-2012 was launched last year and we are working towards at least 1,000 extra prisoners gaining skills and work experience on any given date.

Work has started on two Whare Oranga Ake units, one at Spring Hill Corrections Facility and the other at Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison. Whare Oranga Ake will focus on successfully reintegrating prisoners using a kaupapa Mäori environment which supports prisoners in reconnecting with their culture and identity, and in addressing identified reintegrative needs (particularly employment, accommodation and whänau relationships).

Corrections will be working with local iwi to find community providers to run the Whare, and we expect both Whare Oranga Ake to be operational by the end of June 2011.

Significant steps have also been taken to improve the safety of our staff. In the last 12 months nearly all 3,500 custodial staff have received three days additional training in tactical communications and skills to de-escalate volatile incidents and manage non-compliant prisoners.

In addition, earlier this year we also introduced new equipment for corrections officers designed to prevent injury to staff in situations where physical force may be required to manage violent prisoners. The new equipment includes stab-resistant vests and spit hoods, which will shield staff from blood and saliva. New batons will be made available to specially trained staff for use when all other options to gain order have been exhausted.

However, no matter how well trained and equipped our staff are, serious assaults can and do occur in prisons. In the 2009/10 financial year there were two serious assaults on staff by prisoners, including the tragic death of Corrections Officer Jason Palmer at Spring Hill Corrections Facility. Jason’s death was a cruel reminder of the potential risk our frontline staff face when they interact with, confront, or manage offenders. That they willingly undertake this role demonstrates their public service commitment to doing what they can to improve the safety of the public.

Despite the challenges we have faced over the year, Corrections has made substantial progress towards its priorities and identified many new opportunities to assist in improving public safety, innovation, and a cost-effective and efficient organisational structure.

Barry Matthews
Chief Executive