In this section
Creating Lasting Change 2011 - 2015 - Year Three
Our Vision
To create lasting change by breaking the cycle of re-offending.
Our Goal
Reducing re-offending by 25% by 2017.
Public safety is our bottom line.
Creating Lasting Change
Too many lives in New Zealand are touched by violence and crime. At times it can feel like we’re powerless to stop horrible things happening to people. But at Corrections, we’re not powerless. We can make a difference and that’s why we work here – to create lasting change in the lives of all New Zealanders by breaking the cycle of crime.
Creating Lasting Change sets out the Department of Corrections’ vision for the future, and outlines the steps we need to take to get there.
Every offender we work with is either awaiting trial or has been convicted of a crime; and while most people serve short sentences of less than two years, there are others who have committed truly awful crimes and will spend many years in prison. Where someone is dangerous, our priority must be to protect the public, and that will always be our bottom line. We will ensure these people are housed securely and we will monitor them carefully to ensure they can’t hurt anyone else. We will also work with them to address the
reasons behind their offending.
When you view a snapshot of the life of an offender, all too often the image is one of brutality, addiction, ignorance and poverty. Where this is the case, we need to give offenders the help they need to overcome their past before we can look to improving their chances in the future. In doing this, we must never lose sight of the fact that they in turn have harmed others. We need people to understand the harm they’ve inflicted on others and be prepared to change. Once people are willing to meet us half-way, the journey away from crime can begin in earnest.
We can’t do this alone. We need family members, iwi, employers, treatment providers, our justice and public sector colleagues and local communities to be right there working alongside us. Together we can ensure that offenders and their families have the best possible chance of leading lives untainted by crime.
As we head into our third year of Creating Lasting Change, it is timely to acknowledge how much progress we’ve made, as well as look at the challenges still ahead. We can be immensely proud of how far we’ve come; but we can be even more proud of what
we’re about to do.