I sometimes wonder where politicians get their advice from or how they decide what or what not is best for our country or its citizens.
My last few blogs have been centered around section 52 of the corrections act, and how parts of this act are detrimental to the effective rehabilitation of prison inmates, hence detrimental to Aotearoa as a whole.
When we go looking at the history of concerns based around rehabilitation, we discover concerns have been addressed, and ignored at the highest of levels.
In 2021, Sir Ron Young, Chairman of the Parole Board, wrote directly to Kelvin Davis expressing his concerns at the lack of rehabilitation, given, at that time, over sixty eight percent of prisoners appearing for their first parole hearing had not even started any rehabilitation programs, stating “It is difficult to understand the logic of Corrections’ approach”.
Sir Ron went on to say “The economic benefit of early rehabilitation is self-evident. Having people on parole earlier will reduce the prison population. When using the words economic benefit, the saving to the taxpayer but all his commonsense advice seemingly fell on deaf ears.
The concerns I raise above also brings into question the people who are effectively in charge of overseeing that the rehabilitation of our most vulnerable citizens.
Shouldn’t we as taxpayers expect better performance from executives such as the CEO of corrections, whose base salaries exceed $500K? Surly we should, at the very least, expect performance from the people charged with the well-being of our most vulnerable, not to mention performance for the eye watering budgets they oversee.
It is my intention to bring all these concerns to the attention of the justice select committee when I present my submissions to them around Social Justice Aotearoa’s want to change s52 of the corrections act, with the hope that the people that can actually create change in Aotearoa do some long-awaited enquiring into just what does go on behind closed doors.
Jackie Foster is the CEO of Social Justice Aotearoa.
Jackie – I am guessing that you do not live in suburbs with high levels of recent release prisoners, ie. State House areas…
But someone has a very nice infinity pool. Sweet, a pool with a view. Must be a low crime area, with good Police response times.
Free Peach
“ I do wonder sometimes at the mentality of people who comment when they have no knowledge of the real issue.
Although your comments are personal I take no offence only pity, but will happily engage when you have something constructive to say. Nga Mihi
Free Peach your comment is valid.
Of course my long “constructive” comment didn’t get published.
Nathan can please ask why living in the suburbs or otherwise has got to do with rehabilitation of prisoners.
It seems clear to me, from Jackie’s last few blogs, that human rights are being breeched through lack of rehabilitation in appropriate time frames leaving the tax payer open to millions of dollars worth of compensation claims!
What is also very clear, is the Chairman of the parole board, who appears to be a Sir, has a responsibility to these people and he has clearly stated publicly over several years that Corrections are failing and failing miserably. Well you cant get judgement from a higher level in my opinion.
I applaud Jackie for the position she has taken and the intelligence she has by taking to politics to actually do something about it not just mouthing off I’ll do this or I’ll do that or even being a keyboard warrior, but actually doing the work required to make change and it looks pretty much like she will achieve.
i am watching her progress with interest and often wish more like her were prepared to stand up and take action.
This is not a picture from the subburbs, these pool cost more then many peoples houses – or many years of full benefit income. This is a rich person, trying to get richer, who will never live the consequences of her actions. Currently half of the people apprehended for crimes go nowhere, they go to home D and continue to terrorize their communities, and it is always the poor communities that suffer.
At least, some personality coach should tell this person that this is tone deaf to begin with, stunningly obscene and idiotic for a well educated person seemingly with no moral compass at worse. Unless they think that their little write up is posted on Instagram for lefty affirmation.
Sometimes pictures to tell a full story.
And yes, this person with their very expensive and carbon credit eating infinity pool will get the police action that normal people will never get. Heck, where I live, police don’t come out until there is a dead body on the floor. Go figure.
But then, this is a virtue signaling pretend well to do middle upper class she/her who maybe wishes to find themselves on the list for say the Labour Party as another quota person with certain body parts. Useless, but nice posturing.
The media is the message.
Because ex-prisoners don’t get released in to leafy suburbs.
Well done.
We should at the very least hold the minister to account.
When there is no hope despair sets in. The system fails our community if inmates meet the parole board without any intervention to rehabilitate.
Legal acts of pain and humiliation have always been open to abusive institution.
of course, you lock them up in a place that is not effectively a pipeline into organized crime. I understand that the NZ prisons are better at avoiding that than the ones we have here in Australia, but it still enough of an issue to rehibilitate.
It is a basic human right not to be incarcerated for longer than what is essential.
On this basis is it not time to sue the corrections department for human rights violations where inmates are not on a rehabilitation programme well before appearing at a parole board hearing?
This may well get the attention of the minister.
nothing will get the attention of the minister.
Lol, that is the picture of a person with privilege living in a gate community. In the meantime Rotoruas Nurses are having heir car broken into while on duty.
You make out like every car in NZ is being broken into. Crime has always been an issue but this ain’t robo cop.
Actually the Eagles Nest in Russell, Far North, does have gated entrance and is a beautiful facility with idyllic views for all to see. A wonderful CONFERENCE centre and this is where I attended the Sir Howard League conference in December of last year. Conferences are a regular for me, even if it means working seven days per week. I love being out amongst the people of Aotearoa, meeting people from all walks of life from ex prisoners that have been rehabilitated through to the Judges of our courts and what is even more inspiring is the fact that these people from all walks of life are actually working together for the betterment of our country. What again is it you do Reactionary Bratwurst?
Still not the best picture to convey your message. Without context, it tells it’s own story.
Pathetic response JF.
What is your message?
Bob, Aotearoa is supposedly a free and democratic society. People make mistakes in life, and some make life changing ones. Social Justice Aotearoa’s focus is one of reality entwined with what are laws are supposedly written to implement.
What every tax payer in this country needs to understand is the laws of New Zealand do not allow incarceration for eternity, with the exception of the Christchurch terrorist, which leaves us with the reality of every prisoner in Aotearoa is at some stage is going to be released back into the community so common sense would tell us that to rehabilitate them is cost effective in the long term especially considering currently it is costing around $150,000.00 per year to keep a prisoner in prison.
Consider this a rehabilitated prisoner serving the last part of his or her sentence on home detention, working and paying tax, paying for their own living expenses makes sense does it not.
So Bob I hope this is a more constructive answer for you, but if it isn’t please do tell me as I would be more than happy to korero with you further.
Nga Mihi
“The most vulnerable”. Really?
Criminals generally prey on the vulnerable, not the other way round.
Did you misspell your Daily Blogging name by leaving the W off the start.
If prisoners are not some of the most vulnerable people in this country, Helen Clark was the bloody Prime Minister of new Zealand for 9 years!
Have you ever been into a prison? or attended a parole hearing? because I have in a professional capacity and its a disgrace. I actually assisted a guy who was serving a 14 year sentence and was still there 22 years later due to no rehabilitation because it wasn’t being offered to him by Corrections, no fault of his own. He had served his time, actually time and a half and when he was released he had no support, no where to live, no income, nothing. if that’s not vulnerable then maybe you could tell us all what is.
I do believe in the power of rehabilitation although I wouldn’t quite say that I believe that rehabilitation should be a requirement for release from prison. I do also agree that convicts have the right to expect to spend the least amount of time in prison, not be penalised and then re-penalised in prison as time goes on, and on and on it goes.
The most important aspect of rehabilitation in my mind is that it has the powerful effect of stopping the cycle of abuse.
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