Annual Report 2003/04

Download the full Annual Report 2003/2004 PDF, 3.2 MB

Chief Executive's Overview

Last year's Annual Report signed off on a period of major development since the establishment of the Department of Corrections in 1995. This Annual Report is the first report against the Department's five-year Strategic Business Plan 2003-2008. This plan focuses on consolidating the gains that have been made and improving the quality of what we do, with future developments to be based on the platform that has been established.

The Strategic Business Plan introduced a new set of corporate statements for the Department. A number of initiatives during the year have reinforced these statements so that they do not remain words alone but refl ect a common ethos to support our work. Examples have included the professional ethics project implemented in the Public Prisons Service, the inclusion of the values in the competencies underpinning the performance management system and continuing to give them prominence.

During the year the Government made a number of decisions as a result of an Output Pricing Review, which was conducted to determine the appropriate funding required to sustain the medium to long-term delivery of departmental outputs. Initiatives implemented in the past year, and extended for future years, have seen an increase in the number of Probation Offi cers and psychologists. Additional funding is also allowing an increased focus on training and development for staff and managers, an essential investment to build the people capacity required to sustain and extend the Department’s performance. Other decisions implemented for the past year have included increased resources to maintain our information technology capability and for the New Zealand Parole Board to cater for increased caseloads.

An important milestone during the year was the passage of the Corrections Act. The new Act, which comes into force in 2005, identifi es principles that should guide the future development of corrections services and allows more effective management practices to evolve. Of note also is the incorporation in primary legislation of offenders’ basic rights and entitlements.

The Department still faces a number of challenges. Rising numbers of offenders, both in prison and on community-based sentences, means pressure on staff and facilities. Although an extensive project is under way to provide additional prison capacity, the prison population is continuing to rise signifi cantly faster than forecast by the Ministry of Justice. The additional demands placed on the Department may have implications for the quality of service delivered.

The Department collects an extensive range of performance information to monitor that offenders are managed in a safe, secure and humane manner. Some of this information is benchmarked against information from comparable overseas jurisdictions, and has generally shown the Department to be performing very creditably. Last year we presented a fuller range of this information and have done so again this year. It might be expected that trends in such things as incident rates over several years will reveal some of the impacts of a rising offender population in pressured circumstances.

A vital component of the Department’s work is the range of rehabilitative and reintegrative initiatives that are designed to modify offenders’ behaviour. During the year the Department put in place a new delivery structure to manage many of the core programmes for offenders. At the end of the year the new business unit - Intervention Services - became responsible for the delivery of core interventions to offenders in prisons and the community.

The Department continues to be an organisation that is performing strongly in a challenging, often contentious, and sometimes negative environment. Thanks to the ongoing efforts of staff and managers the Department is succeeding in its work and is strongly placed for further success and continued improvement in the future.

This is my last Annual Report after over nine years as Chief Executive. During my tenure the Department has experienced major change and is now a signifi cantly different place. However, as always, there remains more to be done.

It has been a privilege to head the Department of Corrections over this period. All that has been achieved is a result of dedication, professionalism and the efforts of our people. It is through their personal courage, support and ability to cope with demanding circumstances that we have made progress.

I salute them for their commitment and wish them and the Department well in their future endeavours.

Mark Byers
Chief Executive