2016/17 Annual review of the Department of Corrections

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2016/17 Annual review of the Department of Corrections Report of the Justice Committee March 2018 Contents Recommendation... 2 Introduction... 2 Financial and service performance.

1 2016/17 Annual review of the Department of Corrections Report of the Justice Committee March 2018 Contents Recommendation... 2 Introduction... 2 Financial and service performance... 2 Increasing prison population... 2 Reducing reoffending... 4 Target to reduce the prison population... 4 Gangs in prisons... 5 Mental health in prisons... 5 Using drugs in prisons... 6 Improving outcomes for Māori offenders... 6 Following up the escape of Phillip John Smith... 6 Appendix... 8

2 Department of Corrections Recommendation The Justice Committee has conducted the annual review of the Department of Corrections for 2016/17, and recommends that the House take note of its report. Introduction The Department of Corrections has two key goals: to reduce reoffending and improve public safety. Corrections manages offenders in prison and in the community, and ensures that they comply with their sentences and orders imposed by the courts and the New Zealand Parole Board. To help prevent offenders from reoffending, Corrections helps them reintegrate into the community by providing them with rehabilitation programmes and education. Corrections employs about 9,000 people. The chief executive is Ray Smith. Financial and service performance In 2016/17, Corrections total operating revenue was $1.331 billion (about 2.9 percent more than in 2015/16). Total operating expenses were $1.345 billion (3.7 percent more than the previous year), resulting in a net operating deficit of $ million. The Auditor-General assessed the management control environment and the financial information systems and controls as very good. The performance information and associated systems and controls were assessed as good. The auditor commented that Corrections had made various improvements based on recommendations from the last audit. The auditor recommends that Corrections review the systems, processes, and operating guidance it uses to gather verifiable information for measuring performance in relation to the working prisons framework and prisoner engagement. The auditor continues to monitor Corrections progress as it follows up on recommendations from an external review of its contract and asset management practices. Increasing prison population The prison population has increased by 16.7 percent in the last two years. It has more than doubled since 1996, from 4,079 prisoners to more than 10,200 as at 30 June Of the prisoners, 71 percent are serving a sentence and 29 percent are on remand awaiting a trial or sentencing. The prison population is forecast to reach 12,000 by The reasons for the predicted increase include: potential further growth in crime increasing numbers of prisoners held on remand because of changes under the Bail Amendment Act 2013 increased use of restorative justice 2

3 effects of the three-strikes policy new family violence legislation potential effects from the increase in police numbers. Corrections is managing the increase by recruiting more prison officers, reconfiguring some prisons, expanding double-bunking, and building additional units, including a new facility at Waikeria Prison. Waikeria Prison Corrections has plans to build a new 1,500 bed facility at Waikeria Prison, which is planned to be operational by Cabinet approved the initial business case in 2016/17, and a contract may be signed with a private partner in 2018 (subject to Cabinet approval). We heard that the project is progressing on time. Alternative sentences to prison Electronic monitoring and community-based sentences can be used as alternatives to prison sentences. We asked Corrections whether it considered that there are people in prison who would benefit from an alternative type of sentence. We heard that, while this may be the case, New Zealand does not have adequate rehabilitative facilities or safe housing to support every offender with serious mental health needs or an addiction problem. Even if these offenders received a community-based sentence, their addiction or mental health needs could result in them breaching conditions of their sentences so they might ultimately end up in prison. Double-bunking in prison cells In 2016/17, Corrections added 520 extra bunks to prison cells. This means that about 40 percent of prisoners are now double-bunked, compared with 30 percent reported at our last annual review. We heard that New Zealand still compares well with other jurisdictions. For example, about 80 percent of South Australian prisoners double-bunk. We heard that double-bunking is not a problem in itself as long as other prison facilities, including staffing levels and recreation spaces, are developed to cope with the increase in population. Further, double-bunking can have a positive effect on mental health because prisoners are not left alone. However, the chief executive acknowledged that, ideally, all prisoners would have their own cells. Using disaster recovery reserve capacity to house prisoners Usually, Corrections would keep 1,200 to 1,400 beds in reserve in case of a natural disaster. We heard that the current number was closer to 300 as most of this reserve capacity is being used to house the existing population. We asked what Corrections will do if there is a natural disaster that requires a large number of prisoners to be moved. We heard that Corrections has the ability to use temporary beds in existing buildings to accommodate up to 1,000 more people inside secure perimeters. Most New Zealand prisons have maximum legal limits to their population, so overcrowding is not possible as it would be illegal. The chief executive noted that the capacity in prisons would be increased quarterly, 3

4 from now until December 2019, by recommissioning old prisons and building new units to meet the forecast population growth. Effect of recruiting more police officers The Government has announced it intends to recruit an additional 1,800 police officers over the next three years. Corrections is still advising its Minister on how the increase in police officers could affect prison numbers, but it observed that a large resource increase in one part of the justice sector is likely to have flow-on effects. Reducing reoffending Corrections predicts that 49 percent of released prisoners will be reimprisoned within five years, which would cost about $650 million. In 2016/17, Corrections spent $180.9 million on reintegration and rehabilitation services. About 7,200 prisoners, and over 3,200 people in the community, completed a rehabilitation programme. The rate of reoffending reduced by 3.9 percent in the last financial year. Corrections reported that its most effective rehabilitation programmes are the offender employment programme and the special unit treatment programme. This way for work pilot We asked Corrections how it supports offenders into employment. We heard that it has a range of programmes. Notably, Corrections has received funding for the two-year This way for work pilot to help support offenders into employment once they leave prison. The pilot has two initiatives: eight regionally-based recruitment consultants help former offenders into employment that is suited to their needs and is sustainable in the long-term employer starter packs remove financial barriers to employment, such as transport costs, equipment or uniform, training, licence fees, or accommodation costs. We heard that 900 offenders have been employed, with 40 percent of them employed directly from prison. The chief executive was positive about the pilot s success so far, and stressed how important it is for former offenders to be supported and have the opportunity to do something as simple as sit a driver s licence test. We noted that the pilot and other innovative initiatives were funded through the Justice Sector Fund, which expired in November We asked whether Corrections would be able to fund them in future. We heard that Corrections is working through the process for Budget 2018, and is not unduly concerned about funding to continue the initiatives. Target to reduce the prison population Corrections is working with other justice sector agencies towards the Government s goal to reduce the prison population by 30 percent over the next 15 years. We noted the work Corrections has done to reduce reoffending, and asked whether the Government s goal to reduce the prison population specifically includes targets for reducing reoffending. We heard 4

5 that, although there are no specific Government targets set for reducing reoffending at present, they may be developed in the future. We asked whether the Government s decision to remove the Better Public Services targets would affect cross-agency cooperation in the justice sector. We heard that although targets are a good incentive to cooperate, it is the working relationships with colleagues in other departments that drive results. Gangs in prisons Prisoners with gang connections are nearly twice as likely to reoffend as those without gang affiliations. In 2016/17, gang-affiliated prisoners made up about one-third of the prison population, but they were responsible for nearly two-thirds of prison assaults. Corrections is part of the Whole of Government Action Plan on Gangs, and it launched the Corrections Gang Strategy in Corrections also contributes to the Gang Intelligence Centre, which is a cross-agency effort to build detailed intelligence about gang activity in New Zealand. We asked how Corrections tries to prevent prisoners from joining or reconnecting with gangs when they come to prison. We heard that gang levels in prison have nearly doubled in the last decade, so part of Corrections strategy is to spread the gang population around the prison so no clusters of one particular gang accumulate. The chief executive noted that it can be very difficult for people to leave gangs, particularly if they have family ties. Corrections assists people, especially women, to leave gangs by helping them build alternative support networks, moving them to a new area, and accessing services like gang-related tattoo removal. Mental health in prisons Offenders tend to have higher mental health needs than the general population, and they are more likely to suffer from drug and alcohol abuse. A 2016 Corrections study showed that 52 percent of female prisoners, and 40 percent of male prisoners have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder at some point in their lives. One in five prisoners has attempted suicide at some point. In 2016/17, Corrections secured additional funding of $21 million to improve mental health services for offenders, including: professional teams of mental health clinicians more help for women in prison supported living for people with complex needs more support for family and whānau of offenders. We heard that, on any given day, over 100 people in New Zealand prisons would benefit from greater access to mental health treatment. The chief executive noted that offenders generally do not arrive at prison in the best shape, and Corrections has to manage competing demands when it comes to resourcing for mental health. 5

6 Using drugs in prisons In 2016/17, only 3.6 percent of prisoners returned a positive result on random drug testing. Corrections identified psychoactive substances as a challenge because the ingredients are difficult to identify, but prison drug dogs are being trained for them. We heard anecdotal evidence that prisoners would generally come off standard drugs within a week, but prisoners taking psychoactive substances could take up to three weeks to do so. We heard that methamphetamine, and the extreme effect it has on people s behaviour, is believed to be a leading cause of the increase in the prison population. In 2017, Corrections launched an initiative to help determine the extent to which methamphetamine is a problem within the prison population. The initiative also pilots treatments that focus on methamphetamine addiction. Improving outcomes for Māori offenders Māori are overrepresented at every stage of the criminal justice system. Māori make up 15.8 percent of New Zealand s population, yet 51 percent of New Zealand s prison population are Māori. Within 12 months of release, the current reimprisonment rate for Māori is 36.5 percent, compared with 25.3 percent for New Zealand Europeans. Corrections, the New Zealand Police, and the Ministry of Justice aim to reduce Māori reoffending by 25 percent by We asked Corrections how it is working with iwi and Māori community leaders towards this target. In March 2017, Corrections signed the first kawenata (accord) between a government department and the Kīngitanga. The purpose of the accord is to show that Corrections and the Kīngitanga are committed to working together to improve outcomes for Māori offenders. We heard that one of the first initiatives is to provide housing for female offenders leaving prison in Hamilton. The Kīngitanga has provided land and Corrections is working with other government agencies to provide support services such as housing and employment opportunities. Corrections has also developed relationships with iwi throughout New Zealand, including Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Raukawa, and the Manukau Urban Māori Authority. The focus of these relationships to is work together on developing practical initiatives to better support Māori offenders and their whānau. We look forward to seeing how these relationships will manifest in better outcomes for Māori offenders, and will follow their progress with interest. Following up the escape of Phillip John Smith Phillip John Smith had been on 74 hours temporary release from Spring Hill Corrections Facility when he successfully boarded a flight to Brazil. He was eventually arrested and deported back to New Zealand. We heard that Corrections has implemented the recommendations from the 2015 report of the Government inquiry into the escape. 1 1 The full text of the final report can be found at 6

7 The chief executive said that, while the recommendations would not have indirectly resulted in an increased prison population, they have made safety a greater focus when prisoners are on temporary release. Temporary release is an important way for prisoners to reintegrate back into the community, but Corrections has worked to develop a guided release programme to ensure that they are not left unsupervised. Following the recommendations of the report, Corrections has given the New Zealand Customs Service prisoner identification information for the Customs border alert system. 7

8 Appendix Committee procedure We met on 1 and 22 March 2018 to consider the annual review of the Department of Corrections. We heard evidence from the Department of Corrections and received advice from the Office of the Auditor-General. Committee members Raymond Huo (Chairperson) Hon Amy Adams (until 21 March 2018) Andrew Falloon (until 21 March 2018) Chris Bishop Greg O Connor Ginny Andersen Hon Maggie Barry (from 21 March 2018) Hon Mark Mitchell (from 21 March 2018) Matt King (until 21 March 2018) Hon Dr Nick Smith (from 21 March 2018) Priyanca Radhakrishnan Advice and evidence received We received the following documents as advice and evidence for this annual review. They are available on the Parliament website, along with a transcript of our hearing. Office of the Auditor-General, Briefing on the Department of Corrections, dated 1 March Department of Corrections, Responses to annual review questions Department of Corrections, Responses to annual review questions

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