Annual Report 2012/13

Download the full Annual Report 2012/13 (PDF 1MB)

Erratum:

Due to repagination during the printing process for the Department's Annual Report 1 July 2012- 30 June 2013, the Independent Auditor's Report on pages 33 to 35 contains reference to incorrect page numbers.

Text on page 33 relating to the audit of non-financial performance information incorrectly refers to the non-financial performance information on "...pages 9 to 29."

The correct page reference is "...pages 9 to 22."

Chief Executive's overview

Today 8,600 people are having lunch in a prison cell. This weekend 25,000 people will do community work in New Zealand towns and cities. For a small country, we have a large offender population. But at the Department of Corrections we’re committed to bringing down these numbers and giving everyone – offenders, family members and victims – the chance to live in a better, safer community.

I am very proud to present this, the Department of Corrections’ Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2013. As you will see in the following pages, our results reflect the impressive work being done by our people and partners around the country.

28,325 offenders received 87,962 rehabilitation and reintegration interventions last year. More offenders than ever have access to programmes that address the underlying causes of their offending, such as drug and alcohol abuse, violence, minimal education and limited life skills. Our probation staff are now directly involved in the on-going rehabilitation needs of community-based offenders. Across all our services, offender education and training has increased, with a determined focus on adult learning and acquiring trade-based skills that will increase people’s chances of finding long-term employment.

We have people on community work providing millions of hours’ labour in projects that benefit their community. Over 65,000 hours of offender labour have assisted the Canterbury rebuild alone.

This year was the first time in recorded prison history that we have had no escapes from prison. We have contributed further to public safety by ensuring that offenders comply with their sentences and conditions, and holding them to account if they do not. Dedicated teams and GPS monitoring have significantly improved our management of the release of high-risk prisoners.

The Department of Corrections is Trans Tasman’s Government Department of the Year for 2013. That’s impressive for any organisation – but almost unheard of for one with so many risks to manage as ours. There have been difficult times, such as the riot at Spring Hill Corrections Facility in June. But we had the people and the resources to manage this dangerous situation well, bringing it to a close the same day it began. Perhaps more than anything it’s the way we operate in a time of crisis that makes us worthy of being called Government Department of the Year.

This year saw the closure of two prisons, along with other aging units that were no longer fit for purpose. We now operate 17 prisons (including Mt Eden Corrections Facility, which is run under contract to Serco), with construction of the new public private partnership prison at Wiri on track and scheduled to open in 2015.

A year ago, our people underwent a significant restructure. They’ve responded well and our services now work more closely together, with our four regions having greater freedom to deliver initiatives specific to their area.

Most importantly, we’ve reduced re-offending by 10.6 percent. That is nearly 2,000 people who won’t return to Corrections. That’s significant, and we are well on our way to achieving our target of reducing re-offending by 25 percent by 2017.

Looking back, we can be very proud of what we have achieved, but looking forward there is so much more to come that will make a real difference in the lives of tens of thousands of New Zealanders.

Ray Smith
Chief Executive