For Immediate Release 27 June 2018

Corrections Partnership with Salvation Army Helping to Safely Reintegrate Offenders

Corrections and The Salvation Army have today signed a relationship agreement as part of their ongoing commitment to rehabilitating and reintegrating offenders to reduce re-offending and keep the public safe.

Through the agreement, Corrections contracts The Salvation Army to provide supported and emergency accommodation to women and men transitioning from prison to the community, services to help offenders find and stay in stable employment, and reintegration support to people subject to a Returning Offenders Order.

It also supports the delivery of an eight-week intensive alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment programme in four prisons and residential AOD treatment for offenders serving community-based sentences.

“Services like these are critical to safely reintegrating offenders back into society to help them live crime-free,” Corrections Chief Executive Ray Smith says.

“It’s challenging work. The reality is we are managing people with complex needs who often require a lot of support to find a house or job and access the right treatment. We can’t do it alone, which is why we have focused on building successful partnerships with good providers.

“We have worked with The Salvation Army since 2006 and have developed a really strong, trusting relationship in that time. They have played an important role in helping us safely manage offenders in the community and make a real difference in people’s lives,” Ray says.

Salvation Army Territorial Commander Commissioner Andy Westrupp says the partnership has been hugely valuable to The Army’s long-standing reintegration work.

“We’ve been working with released offenders in Aotearoa for more than 120 years, but this partnership makes a real difference in providing a good base and ongoing support for the people we work with. We’ve built up a great trust, where together we’re able to help people transform their lives, to bring out their God-given potential and to make New Zealand a safer place,” Andy says.

Hannah* is one of the offenders being supported to reintegrate. With the help of her probation officer and Salvation Army staff she has moved to a new town for a fresh start and is being helped by The Salvation Army Employment Service with training and work readiness programmes to help her find and keep a job.

“The Salvation Army and Corrections have been awesome in supporting me to start again. I had no support. I probably would have gone straight back to offending again and back to jail if Salvation Army hadn’t given me the support they had. The staff give me reassurance that it’s worth sticking it out and keeping trying when obstacles come up. It’s kept me feeling safe, making good decisions.”

The agreement was signed by Corrections Chief Executive Ray Smith and The Salvation Army Territorial Commander Commissioner Andy Westrupp at the Department of Corrections National Office in Wellington.

*Name has been changed

ENDS

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