Key Initiatives to be Delivered in 2006/07

This section summarises the key priorities for the Department in 2006/07 agreed with the Minister of Corrections, and the initiatives to support these priorities. In conjunction with the Ministerial priorities, the Department will continue to work in accordance with the themes and strategies outlined in its Strategic Business Plan 2003-2008. This section outlines the initiatives supporting the Minister's priorities in the context of these themes and strategies, together with the achievements to date, initiatives for 2006/07, and the outlook beyond 2006/07 for each of these themes and strategies.

Ministerial Priorities for 2006/07

The key priorities for 2006/07 agreed with the Minister of Corrections continue the increased emphasis on the development of rehabilitation and reintegration initiatives to ensure effective and consistent approaches to managing and rehabilitating offenders. These priorities describe the opportunities for the Department to improve its overall performance and operate with a greater focus on prisoner responsibility and stronger incentives for pro-social behaviour changes.

The priority areas are:

Responsibility-based approaches to provide prisoners with progressive systems of incentives and sanctions that encourage and reward good behaviour.
Improving intensive rehabilitation programmes.
Increasing the emphasis on the treatment of offenders who have substance abuse problems.
Focusing on offenders gaining skills and employment, and increasing the opportunities available in prisons.
Considering options for strengthening community sentences for lower-risk offenders.
Working in collaborative ways in partnership with the community and agencies such as the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Social Development and Housing New Zealand Corporation to manage and rehabilitate offenders and reintegrate them into the community.

Strategic Business Plan Themes, Strategies and Initiatives

This section outlines the initiatives identified for delivery in 2006/07 to support the above key priorities for the year, within the context of the themes and strategies of the Strategic Business Plan 2003-2008.

While the prime focus will be on those initiatives supporting the Minister's key priorities, a number of other initiatives will also be progressed in relation to these themes and strategies, particularly in relation to Theme 4 - Enhancing Capability and Capacity. To achieve the Government's goals for the next decade, justice sector and departmental outcomes, and these key priorities, the Department must ensure that it has in place the right resources, people, support systems and infrastructure.

This section outlines recent achievements made under each strategy, details the key initiatives to be progressed in 2006/07 and outlines further development over the life of the strategic business plan.

Strategic Business Plan Theme 1 - Ensuring Effective Offender Management

Public safety is paramount to the Department's operations. The Department is committed to continuing to improve the way it manages offenders, both from a custodial and non-custodial perspective, by continuing its focus on the safe, secure and humane management of offenders.

Strategy: Strengthen the corrections system's contribution to public safety

Work achieved to date

Work in recent years has seen: a review of prison security policies and visitor management; improvements in the management of high-risk offenders; upgrading of perimeter security at all large sites; implementation of the trials of new technologies for electronic monitoring; development of appropriate systems and staff to monitor prisoners' telephone calls; introduction of systems for the collection and analysis of data that contributes to increased crime prevention information capability; implementation of year one of the Department's 2005-2008 Strategy to Reduce Drug and Alcohol Use in New Zealand Prisons; and implementation of improved information sharing between agencies following the enactment of the Corrections Act 2004.

Key initiatives for 2006/07

Develop and validate a Prisoner Responsibility and Security Framework, including:

- a responsibility-based approach to prisoner management using progressive systems of incentives and sanctions
- the review and revision of the National System: Security Classification of Sentenced Prisoners, including a separate classification system for female prisoners, and implementation of the revised National System in accordance with the approved implementation plan
- enhancing the Department's approach to active management, incorporating a high level of interaction with prisoners.

Implement the initiatives from the Department's 2005-2008 Strategy to Reduce Drug and Alcohol Use in New Zealand Prisons.
Introduce appropriate systems and staff to monitor prisoners' telephone calls.
Implement the approved recommendations of the trials of new technologies for electronic monitoring.
Implement the Crime Prevention Information Capability model to further increase the security of prisons, including introducing systems for the collection and analysis of data that contribute to increased crime prevention information capability, in accordance with the approved implementation plan and funding.

Outlook beyond 2006/07

The Department will fully implement the initiatives from its 2005-2008 Strategy to Reduce Drug and Alcohol Use in New Zealand Prisons. Following this, it will develop and publish the Department's 2008-2011 Strategy to Reduce Drug and Alcohol Use in New Zealand Prisons.

Strategy: Monitor application of offender management processes

Work achieved to date