6. SANDRA GOUDIE (National—Coromandel) Link to this
to the Minister of Corrections
What advice has she received about the management of parole by Department of Corrections since a highly critical report by the Auditor-General in 2009?
Hon JUDITH COLLINS (Minister of Corrections) Link to this
I am pleased to report that significant progress has been made into the way that the Department of Corrections manages parole. Community Probation and Psychological Services has completed all 46 action points in a comprehensive improvement plan and recruited the extra staff funded in Budget 2009 specifically to improve the management of parole. It has also completed a major redesign of the way that parole is managed. This valuable progress will help to reduce the risk to public safety posed by people who have been released into the community on parole.
What other reports has the Minister received regarding improvements to Community Probation and Psychological Services?
Hon JUDITH COLLINS Link to this
Under the guidance of an expert panel, Community Probation and Psychological Services has developed a 3-year change programme that will fundamentally change the way that all probation activities are undertaken, not just parole activities. The framework identifies mandatory standards that must be met for every offender, introduces the use of a new tool to assess the changing risk that an offender presents, and provides staff with a decision framework to ensure that the right actions are taken with the right offender at the right time. It is now being phased in. The probation service is now back on track after years of under-investment by the previous Government, which ran its services down to the ground.