25 October 2007
Prison Ombudsman major victory for Greens and justice

The establishment of an Ombudsman for Prisons fulfils the Government's agreement with the Green Party to set up an independent prison inspectorate, as announced in a joint statement today.

"This is a major victory for the justice system in New Zealand. This announcement ensures that we will have an inspectorate body with the ability to fairly and independently hold the department to account," Green Party Justice Spokesperson Nandor Tanczos says.

"The tragic killing of Liam Ashley in a prison van, and numerous allegations of corruption in the prison system have highlighted the urgent need for an inspectorate that is independent of the department."

The Ombudsman for Prisons will conduct investigations of all deaths in custody and designated serious offences and will conduct inquiries to identify systemic problems in the prison service.

The previous arrangement, in which investigations were conducted by the Department of Corrections through its Inspectorate of Prisons, has been viewed with suspicion by many. It was seen to leave a potential for bias in the initial investigation of such offences. Those investigations were overseen by the Ombudsman.

"Public confidence will be significantly bolstered by having the Ombudsman conduct the investigation themselves" Nandor says.

In addition, while the Ombudsman's office can already conduct its own inquiries - such as it did following the killing of Liam Ashley - there will now be a clear function and adequate resourcing to increase the number of such inquiries, so that the systemic issues can be picked up early and addressed.

"The proposal also envisages greater transparency, through increased public reporting of the results of these investigations." The Government agreed to establish an independent prison inspectorate following negotiations with the Greens during the passage of the Victims and Prisoners Claims Compensation Act in 2005.

ENDS

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