Outcome: Victims of Crime are Supported

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What the Department is seeking to achieve

The Department of Corrections improves public safety by supporting victims of crime when it:

  • provides registered victims with information in accordance with the Victims’ Rights Act 2002
  • refers victims to specialist support organisations for appropriate assistance.

What the Department will do to achieve this outcome

The Department notifies registered victims about events relating to the specific offenders who have been convicted for offences against the victim, as detailed in the Victims’ Rights Act 2002. The Department maintains a database containing the details of registered victims. The names and contact details of victims are provided by the New Zealand Police.

The victims’ notification system ensures that victims can be properly informed about specified events relating to their offender. Victims who receive notification are likely to be better able to participate in the criminal justice system.
The Department provides victims' details to the New Zealand Parole Board, Department of Labour (Immigration Service) and the Ministry of Justice so they may provide notification services required by the Parole Act 2002, Victims' Rights Act 2002 and Prisoners' and Victims' Claims Act 2005.

The Department refers victims to other appropriate agencies and non-government organisations for specialist support. The Department has a Memorandum of Understanding with the New Zealand Council of Victim Support Groups which aims to improve services to victims.

As with all outcomes, the Department works with other agencies and community groups to ensure victims of crime are supported. In particular, the Department is a party to an Operational Protocol on Victim Notification, along with the Ministry of Social Development, the Ministry of Health, the New Zealand Immigration Service branch of the Department of Labour and the New Zealand Police. The Protocol sets out the services each of the agencies are required to provide with the aim of improving services to victims of offences, under Part 3 of the Victims’ Rights Act.

The Output Class that contributes to supporting victims of crime is Output Class 10: Service Purchase, Provision and Monitoring.

How the Department will demonstrate success in achieving this outcome

The Department will know it is successful in supporting victims of crime when there are minimal justified complaints from victims.