🏒 Department of Corrections, Community Probation Service, Napier Office

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Statistics New Zealand (1954-1998), New Zealand Official Yearbook 1954-1998.  Wellington, New Zealand.  GP Publications.

Ministry of Justice, Directory of Official Information (1983 - 2003), Directory of Official Information 1983 - 2003-2005.  Wellington, New Zealand.  Ministry of Justice.

Department of Corrections website (Services and Group Profiles - Community Probation Service)
www.corrections.govt.nz (accessed 29/09/2004)

Leibrich, Julie, Galaway, Burt and Underhill, Yvonne, (1984), Community Service Orders in New Zealand.  Wellington, New Zealand.  Department of Justice.

Staff at the Hawkes Bay-Gisborne Area Office, the Gisborne Community Probation Office, and the Wellington Community Probation Office
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This section contains:

  1. Information on the introduction and development of the Napier Community Probation Office.

  2. Information on the structure of the Napier Community Probation Office.

  3. A summary of Community Probation Service (local office) functions.

  4. A history of the development of community based sentences and district probation offices from 1886 onwards.

 

1.)  Introduction and development of the Napier Office

The First Offenders Probation Act 1886 introduced probationary sentences to New Zealand, and allowed the Governor-General to appoint probation officers.  The Criminal Justice Act 1954 was the basis for the introduction of a professional Probation Service, enlarging the service and providing better training for officers.

It is difficult to ascertain precisely when the Napier District Office was established.  Until c.1954, probationary sentences appear to have been largely managed by individual probation officers who were appointed to specific districts and whose reports were included in the annual reports of the Department of Justice (Probation Service).  The responsibilities of such individual officers evolved into the formal establishment of district offices to manage probationary sentences in the community.

By 1995 there were 39 district probation offices, including Napier.  Periodic Detention Work Centres were also located in most districts, administered by wardens who reported to District Probation Officers.  At this time the Community Probation Service was re-named the Community Corrections Service, with local office titles being altered accordingly.  This followed the disestablishment of the Department of Justice and the passing of its functions to the newly established Ministry of Justice, Department for Courts and Department for Corrections, with the Service coming within the jurisdiction of the latter.  By 1999 the name was once again returned to the Community Probation Service.

By 2003 the Service’s regional offices covered 143 service sites, including service centres, reporting centres and community work centres, and were supported by an area office and head office structure.  The district offices, including Napier, were responsible for managing more than 43,000 annual community-based sentences and orders.  These included supervision, community work, home detention, parole, release from prison on conditions and rehabilitation centres (approved residential centres which operated programmes for offenders designed to discover and address the causes/factors contributing to their offending).  Previous sentences administered by the Service included periodic detention, community service, and imprisonment with supervision to follow.

 

2.)  Structure of the Napier Community Probation Service Office

As of 2002 the Napier Community Probation Service consisted of the Napier Service Centre and the Napier Periodic Detention Work Centre.  The Work Centre reported to the manager/s of the Service Centre.  The Napier Community Probation Office came under the immediate jurisdiction of the the Hawkes Bay-Gisborne Area Office, following the establishment of area offices in 1997.  The area offices in turn came under the jurisdiction of the General Manager, Community Probation Service, Department of Corrections.

 

3.)  Functions of the Community Probation Service - local offices

The aims of the Community Probation Service were to:

  • promote order and safety in society

  • reduce the likelihood of re-offending

  • reduce the rate of imprisonment by providing personal and social information on offenders and inmates, and providing opportunities for social integration and rehabilitation

through various community-based sentences managed by local offices such as Napier.  The sentences were administered within the terms of the Criminal Justice Act 1985, the Criminal Justice Amendment Act 1993, and the Sentencing Act 2002, and were designed to provide an alternative to incarceration within a penal institution.  Convicted offenders serving such sentences often worked in the community as a form of rehabilitation and as repayment for damage caused by their crime.

 

4.)  Development of community-based sentences, 1886 -

1886 - 1920 Introduction of the probationary sentence and probation officers

In 1886, the First Offenders Probation Act was introduced to try to cope with the increasing amount of first-time offenders who were adding to the financial costs of the justice system.  By passing the Act, New Zealand introduced the second Probation Act in the world [1].  The Act allowed the Governor-General to appoint prison officers as probation officers, and senior police officers as probation officers in districts where there were no prisons. The sentence of probation allowed certain offenders to be released back into the community under a license and various conditions which, if not fulfilled, resulted in re-arrest and committal.  Registers appear to have been kept even during this early period; in 1916 the annual Report of the Prisons Branch, Department of Justice included a short report from Napier which stated that “on the 1st of January, 1915, there was one male probationer on the register of this district” [2].

Originally it was intended that probation should only be used for first offenders guilty of trivial offences, but its scope was gradually widened through amendments to the Act in 1908 and 1920 to apply to any offender guilty of an offence punishable by imprisonment, either on indictment or summarily.  District probation officers were required to submit a monthly return to the Minister in Charge of the Prisons Department of the name, sex and offence of persons released on probation.  In 1920 the Probation Service, which had previously reported to the Minister in Charge of the Prisons Department, became a separate branch within the Department of Justice and a Chief Probation Officer was also appointed.

1920 - 1954 Probation officers appointed to districts

It is likely that district probation work began more specifically in the Napier district during this period.  Records of the Napier Community Probation Office (ACBQ), which were transferred by the Hawkes Bay-Gisborne Area Office (ABUS), include offender registers which date from as early as 1939.  These would have been maintained by members of the Police Force appointed as probation officers and reporting to the Probation Service, or part-time civilian probation officers.  By 1927, reports were included in the annual reports of the Department of Justice (Probation Service) from the Napier and Gisborne probation officers [3].

By 1925, under the Offenders Probation Act 1920, New Zealand was divided into 181 probation districts, with a probation officer being appointed for each district.  In addition, women probation officers were appointed to deal with the cases of female offenders in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.  By 1930 organisation of the Probation Service was made more effective by the appointment of a Field Officer, responsible for visiting all districts, the appointment of several full-time probation officers, and the setting up of 22 voluntary district Probation Committees to assist with work placement for probationers.  The advent of World War II in 1930 also assisted in job placement for probationers, who had previously been faced with a public generally averse to providing employment opportunities.  By 1945 the annual Report of the Department of Justice was recording that, “happily, the present conditions in industry have made it possible to suitably place those who are willing and able to work” [4].

1954 Introduction of a professional probation service

The passing of the Criminal Justice Act 1954 allowed offenders to be released from prison on probation for a period of one to three years under the supervision of a probation officer.  Alongside the Penal Institution Act 1954, the purpose of this legislation was to give practical effect to modern theories of crime and punishment, and to provide a suitable legal framework for the treatment of offenders in New Zealand.  It consolidated and amended the laws relating to probation, discouraged the imprisonment of young offenders, and subsequently resulted in an overall increase of offenders under the supervision of probation officers.  As a result, authority was given for an increase in the number of full-time officers in order that one could be placed in each main centre, and each prison could have the full or part-time services of a probation officer to assist in the formulation and execution of release plans.

1954 - 1960s  Further expansion

The 1950s and 1960s were a period of geographical and numerical expansion for the Probation Service.  The Penal Institutions Amendment Act 1961 (section 2, 21a-21c) authorised the part-time release of selected inmates to engage in outside activity, such as ‘release to work’ parole.  The selection of offenders was made by a Release to Work Committee, chaired by an experienced Stipendiary Magistrate.  In addition, the Criminal Justice Amendment Act 1962 made provision for sentences of periodic detention up to 12 months.  Originally aimed at young offenders, in 1967 the periodic detention system was extended to include adult offenders.  Utilising residential and non-residential work centres, the sentence aimed to reduce the prison population, and to provide an activity which was punitive but could also result in a constructive response from the offender.

By 1963 the probation method had come to be accepted as an integral part of the penal system, and was widely used in New Zealand [5].  The courts showed increasing confidence in the Probation Service, by 1960 requesting up to 4,000 pre-sentence reports from probation officers.  The number of persons released on probation rose from 1,692 in 1956 to 1,944 in 1961.  By December 1978, of all offenders on probation and in penal institutions, 82 percent were on probation [6].

1970s onwards

By 1970 the number of offenders under the supervision of the Probation Service and the number of court requests for pre-sentence reports had doubled from that of 1960.  Further, the responsibilities of the Service now included all penal measures short of imprisonment.  Larger numbers of staff were therefore sought, and training opportunities provided.  The Criminal Justice Amendment Act 1980 introduced the Community Service sentence on 1 February 1981, and the Criminal Justice Act 1993 introduced home detention sentences for inmates convicted of non-violent offences.  Home detention was initially implemented as a pilot in the Auckland metropolitan area, using random video links to enable the supervising probation officers to establish visually that parolees were confined to their residences.

In July 2002 further changes to sentences were introduced.  The community service and periodic detention sentences were combined to become known as community work.  The community programme sentence was discontinued.  Supervision and parole remained in place.  A new sentence, release on conditions, was also introduced; this replaced what was formerly known as imprisonment with supervision to follow.

Footnotes

[1] New Zealand Official Yearbook, 1954, page 224.

[2] AJHR 1916, H 20, page 9.

[3] AJHR 1927, Volume III, H20b, pages 4-5.

[4] AJHR 1945, Volume II, H20, page 21.

[5] New Zealand Official Yearbook 1963, page 268.

[6] New Zealand Official Yearbook 1980, page 231.

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Agency

ACBQ

1886 ‑ 

Central government

First Offenders Probation Act 1886

The Community Probation Service managed community-based rehabilitative sentences such as supervision, community service, periodic detention and community programmes, home detention, rehabilitation centres, parole, community work and release from prison on conditions. Other areas of responsibility included providing pre-sentence reports to help judges sentence offenders, and administering funding to providers of community based programmes. The Napier Office had responsibility for the administration of community sentences in the Napier area, and the management of associated case files, indexes and registers relating to individuals and their probationary sentences.

Napier, Hawkes Bay

Show History

This section contains:

  1. Information on the introduction and development of the Napier Community Probation Office.

  2. Information on the structure of the Napier Community Probation Office.

  3. A summary of Community Probation Service (local office) functions.

  4. A history of the development of community based sentences and district probation offices from 1886 onwards.

 

1.)  Introduction and development of the Napier Office

The First Offenders Probation Act 1886 introduced probationary sentences to New Zealand, and allowed the Governor-General to appoint probation officers.  The Criminal Justice Act 1954 was the basis for the introduction of a professional Probation Service, enlarging the service and providing better training for officers.

It is difficult to ascertain precisely when the Napier District Office was established.  Until c.1954, probationary sentences appear to have been largely managed by individual probation officers who were appointed to specific districts and whose reports were included in the annual reports of the Department of Justice (Probation Service).  The responsibilities of such individual officers evolved into the formal establishment of district offices to manage probationary sentences in the community.

By 1995 there were 39 district probation offices, including Napier.  Periodic Detention Work Centres were also located in most districts, administered by wardens who reported to District Probation Officers.  At this time the Community Probation Service was re-named the Community Corrections Service, with local office titles being altered accordingly.  This followed the disestablishment of the Department of Justice and the passing of its functions to the newly established Ministry of Justice, Department for Courts and Department for Corrections, with the Service coming within the jurisdiction of the latter.  By 1999 the name was once again returned to the Community Probation Service.

By 2003 the Service’s regional offices covered 143 service sites, including service centres, reporting centres and community work centres, and were supported by an area office and head office structure.  The district offices, including Napier, were responsible for managing more than 43,000 annual community-based sentences and orders.  These included supervision, community work, home detention, parole, release from prison on conditions and rehabilitation centres (approved residential centres which operated programmes for offenders designed to discover and address the causes/factors contributing to their offending).  Previous sentences administered by the Service included periodic detention, community service, and imprisonment with supervision to follow.

 

2.)  Structure of the Napier Community Probation Service Office

As of 2002 the Napier Community Probation Service consisted of the Napier Service Centre and the Napier Periodic Detention Work Centre.  The Work Centre reported to the manager/s of the Service Centre.  The Napier Community Probation Office came under the immediate jurisdiction of the the Hawkes Bay-Gisborne Area Office, following the establishment of area offices in 1997.  The area offices in turn came under the jurisdiction of the General Manager, Community Probation Service, Department of Corrections.

 

3.)  Functions of the Community Probation Service - local offices

The aims of the Community Probation Service were to:

  • promote order and safety in society

  • reduce the likelihood of re-offending

  • reduce the rate of imprisonment by providing personal and social information on offenders and inmates, and providing opportunities for social integration and rehabilitation

through various community-based sentences managed by local offices such as Napier.  The sentences were administered within the terms of the Criminal Justice Act 1985, the Criminal Justice Amendment Act 1993, and the Sentencing Act 2002, and were designed to provide an alternative to incarceration within a penal institution.  Convicted offenders serving such sentences often worked in the community as a form of rehabilitation and as repayment for damage caused by their crime.

 

4.)  Development of community-based sentences, 1886 -

1886 - 1920 Introduction of the probationary sentence and probation officers

In 1886, the First Offenders Probation Act was introduced to try to cope with the increasing amount of first-time offenders who were adding to the financial costs of the justice system.  By passing the Act, New Zealand introduced the second Probation Act in the world [1].  The Act allowed the Governor-General to appoint prison officers as probation officers, and senior police officers as probation officers in districts where there were no prisons. The sentence of probation allowed certain offenders to be released back into the community under a license and various conditions which, if not fulfilled, resulted in re-arrest and committal.  Registers appear to have been kept even during this early period; in 1916 the annual Report of the Prisons Branch, Department of Justice included a short report from Napier which stated that “on the 1st of January, 1915, there was one male probationer on the register of this district” [2].

Originally it was intended that probation should only be used for first offenders guilty of trivial offences, but its scope was gradually widened through amendments to the Act in 1908 and 1920 to apply to any offender guilty of an offence punishable by imprisonment, either on indictment or summarily.  District probation officers were required to submit a monthly return to the Minister in Charge of the Prisons Department of the name, sex and offence of persons released on probation.  In 1920 the Probation Service, which had previously reported to the Minister in Charge of the Prisons Department, became a separate branch within the Department of Justice and a Chief Probation Officer was also appointed.

1920 - 1954 Probation officers appointed to districts

It is likely that district probation work began more specifically in the Napier district during this period.  Records of the Napier Community Probation Office (ACBQ), which were transferred by the Hawkes Bay-Gisborne Area Office (ABUS), include offender registers which date from as early as 1939.  These would have been maintained by members of the Police Force appointed as probation officers and reporting to the Probation Service, or part-time civilian probation officers.  By 1927, reports were included in the annual reports of the Department of Justice (Probation Service) from the Napier and Gisborne probation officers [3].

By 1925, under the Offenders Probation Act 1920, New Zealand was divided into 181 probation districts, with a probation officer being appointed for each district.  In addition, women probation officers were appointed to deal with the cases of female offenders in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.  By 1930 organisation of the Probation Service was made more effective by the appointment of a Field Officer, responsible for visiting all districts, the appointment of several full-time probation officers, and the setting up of 22 voluntary district Probation Committees to assist with work placement for probationers.  The advent of World War II in 1930 also assisted in job placement for probationers, who had previously been faced with a public generally averse to providing employment opportunities.  By 1945 the annual Report of the Department of Justice was recording that, “happily, the present conditions in industry have made it possible to suitably place those who are willing and able to work” [4].

1954 Introduction of a professional probation service

The passing of the Criminal Justice Act 1954 allowed offenders to be released from prison on probation for a period of one to three years under the supervision of a probation officer.  Alongside the Penal Institution Act 1954, the purpose of this legislation was to give practical effect to modern theories of crime and punishment, and to provide a suitable legal framework for the treatment of offenders in New Zealand.  It consolidated and amended the laws relating to probation, discouraged the imprisonment of young offenders, and subsequently resulted in an overall increase of offenders under the supervision of probation officers.  As a result, authority was given for an increase in the number of full-time officers in order that one could be placed in each main centre, and each prison could have the full or part-time services of a probation officer to assist in the formulation and execution of release plans.

1954 - 1960s  Further expansion

The 1950s and 1960s were a period of geographical and numerical expansion for the Probation Service.  The Penal Institutions Amendment Act 1961 (section 2, 21a-21c) authorised the part-time release of selected inmates to engage in outside activity, such as ‘release to work’ parole.  The selection of offenders was made by a Release to Work Committee, chaired by an experienced Stipendiary Magistrate.  In addition, the Criminal Justice Amendment Act 1962 made provision for sentences of periodic detention up to 12 months.  Originally aimed at young offenders, in 1967 the periodic detention system was extended to include adult offenders.  Utilising residential and non-residential work centres, the sentence aimed to reduce the prison population, and to provide an activity which was punitive but could also result in a constructive response from the offender.

By 1963 the probation method had come to be accepted as an integral part of the penal system, and was widely used in New Zealand [5].  The courts showed increasing confidence in the Probation Service, by 1960 requesting up to 4,000 pre-sentence reports from probation officers.  The number of persons released on probation rose from 1,692 in 1956 to 1,944 in 1961.  By December 1978, of all offenders on probation and in penal institutions, 82 percent were on probation [6].

1970s onwards

By 1970 the number of offenders under the supervision of the Probation Service and the number of court requests for pre-sentence reports had doubled from that of 1960.  Further, the responsibilities of the Service now included all penal measures short of imprisonment.  Larger numbers of staff were therefore sought, and training opportunities provided.  The Criminal Justice Amendment Act 1980 introduced the Community Service sentence on 1 February 1981, and the Criminal Justice Act 1993 introduced home detention sentences for inmates convicted of non-violent offences.  Home detention was initially implemented as a pilot in the Auckland metropolitan area, using random video links to enable the supervising probation officers to establish visually that parolees were confined to their residences.

In July 2002 further changes to sentences were introduced.  The community service and periodic detention sentences were combined to become known as community work.  The community programme sentence was discontinued.  Supervision and parole remained in place.  A new sentence, release on conditions, was also introduced; this replaced what was formerly known as imprisonment with supervision to follow.

Footnotes

[1] New Zealand Official Yearbook, 1954, page 224.

[2] AJHR 1916, H 20, page 9.

[3] AJHR 1927, Volume III, H20b, pages 4-5.

[4] AJHR 1945, Volume II, H20, page 21.

[5] New Zealand Official Yearbook 1963, page 268.

[6] New Zealand Official Yearbook 1980, page 231.


House of Representatives, (1887-1996), Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives of New Zealand Sessions 1887-1985, H20 (annual reports, Department of Justice - Probation Service); Session 1993-1996 Volume 23 (E5) (annual report, Department of Justice). Wellington, New Zealand. Government Printer.

Statistics New Zealand (1954-1998), New Zealand Official Yearbook 1954-1998. Wellington, New Zealand. GP Publications.

Ministry of Justice, Directory of Official Information (1983 - 2003), Directory of Official Information 1983 - 2003-2005. Wellington, New Zealand. Ministry of Justice.

Department of Corrections website (Services and Group Profiles - Community Probation Service)

www.corrections.govt.nz (accessed 29/09/2004)

Leibrich, Julie, Galaway, Burt and Underhill, Yvonne, (1984), Community Service Orders in New Zealand. Wellington, New Zealand. Department of Justice.

Staff at the Hawkes Bay-Gisborne Area Office, the Gisborne Community Probation Office, and the Wellington Community Probation Office






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