Hon Damien O’Connor
Minister of Corrections

31 July 2007 Media Statement

New approach to improve prisoner behaviour and encourage rehabilitation

Prisoners throughout New Zealand will soon be able to earn the right to increase their learning, training and work opportunities and to receive privileges, in return for good behaviour, Corrections Minister Damien O'Connor says.

Mr O’Connor today announced the implementation of a new Prisoner Placement System at Auckland Region Women’s Corrections Facility. The new system, which is also underway at Otago Corrections Facility, will be rolled out next at the new Spring Hill Corrections Facility when it opens for prisoners in November and then around the country in a staged process.

Prisoner placement will operate in conjunction with the new National Security Classification System introduced in April to provide a spectrum of access and activities available to prisoners depending on their behaviour, Mr O'Connor said.

"Prisoners will be incentivised to take responsibility for their actions, and to both improve their behaviour and undertake meaningful activity to encourage rehabilitation, in a much more structured and rigorous way than previously.

"It's up to them. If they abide by the rules they will progress through the system to receive more unlock hours, they will be allowed to keep more possessions in their cells, have more flexible visiting arrangements and greater freedom of movement within prison. This will give them access to training, work opportunities and other beneficial programmes in preparation for their eventual release.

"But if they misbehave then they will be penalised by being subject to more restrictions. At its harshest, the most difficult prisoners will spend 23 hours a day locked in a cell. However, they will continue to receive basic human rights and fair and humane treatment, and the system will be underpinned by rigorous checks and balances."

Mr O'Connor said the placement system, which has been made possible by the new dual risk classification system – prisoners are now rated on security risk within the prison as well as external risk, represents a significant step forward in the way New Zealand manages offenders.

"These steps are part of a wider structure for managing offenders and encouraging responsible behaviour in prisons that includes active prisoner management, rehabilitation initiatives and prisoner employment – all areas that this government has worked hard to improve.

"After eight years of modernising the corrections system including an investment of more than $1 billion to improve prison security, the Labour-led Government is well down the track in changing the culture right across the Department of Corrections.

"Escapes rates are down 78 per cent since the late 1990s, positive drug tests have been more than halved, and prisoner attacks on each other and on corrections officers have dropped markedly.

"This has given us more opportunity to work on effective ways of rehabilitating prisoners, in order to bring down re-offending rates and make the community safer.

"The Government has invested substantially to build new drug and alcohol treatment units and special treatment units, and to boost the number and range of meaningful work and training opportunities for prisoners.

"The department itself is also undergoing significant change – at head office, across the prison system, including the transport of prisoners, and expanding the range of community sentences it manages. It is also homing in on and dealing severely with instances of corruption, and the Government is adding tough new clauses to the Corrections Act to drive contraband out of our prisons."

Mr O'Connor said that in the past, Corrections has not been able to run a system like this in such a systematic way.

"Previous systems have been tried but have not worked out for one reason or another. The Labour-led Government has carefully worked through all the legal and practical implications and this time the system has the support of frontline staff."

ENDS