Corrections
Description
Background and history
288. Correctional services are an important part of New Zealand’s judicial system and are supported by a number of correctional facilities (prisons) throughout the country.
289. All prisons in New Zealand are currently owned and operated by the Department of Corrections. Auckland Central Remand Prison was opened under private management (GEO Group) in 2000, but management was returned to the Department in 2005.
Assets
290. Vote Corrections’ physical assets at 30 June 2008 were valued at $1.7 billion of which $1.5 billion were classified as non-residential buildings.[79]
291. The government owns and operates 20 prisons; 53 per cent of cells are high-security and 47 per cent low-security.[80] The following diagram outlines the geographical locations, by region, of prisons.
- Geographical locations of prisons
- Source: www.corrections.govt.nz
Funding and pricing
292. Vote Corrections’ operating expenses in 2009/10 are budgeted at $1.1 billion. Approximately $713 million of that has been budgeted to fund the custody of prisoners.
Planning
293. The demand for prison beds is based on an 8-year 2008 Justice Sector Prisoner Population Forecast (“the forecast”), which predicts substantial growth in prison numbers.
Analysis
Demand drivers
294. The forecast is driven by crime rates, policing policy, prosecution and resolution rates, court processing rates, sentencing and the proportion of sentence served.
295. The government is considering options to address the forecast growth in the prison population. The Department of Corrections faces significant prison capacity demands over the next 10 years, and has developed a plan to increase capacity and replace obsolete capacity.
296. The government provided some funding towards this plan in Budget 2009 (for double bunking and further design/planning work). It is estimated that the remainder of the plan would cost up to $1.6 billion in capital over the next nine years, and up to $284 million in operating costs per annum by 2018/19.[81]
