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The New Zealand Department of Corrections (in Māori, Ara Poutama Aotearoa) is a state sector organisation of New Zealand. Its core responsibility is the management of the New Zealand corrections system. New Zealand's Minister of Corrections is the Hon. Damien O'Connor. History The department was established on 1 October 1995, following government decisions on the recommendations of the Review of the New Zealand Department of Justice in 1994. Corrections was led for its first ten years by Chief Executive, Mark G Byers. Byers retired from the public service in 2005 and was replaced by Barry Matthews. Matthews is a former Deputy Commissioner of Police in New Zealand and was for a time the Commissioner of the Western Australian Police Force. The Department is part of the national public service of New Zealand. In early 2006, the Department officially adopted the Māori name Ara Poutama Aotearoa. Responsibilities The Department of Corrections is tasked with ensuring that custodial sentences (imprisonment) and non-custodial sentences and orders (home detention, supervision, community work, release on conditions, and parole) imposed by New Zealand's Courts and the New Zealand Parole Board are administered in a safe, secure, humane and effective way. The Department aims to contribute to the maintenance of a safe and just society by reducing the level of re-offending through the delivery of targeted and appropriate programmes to help offender’s rehabilitation and reintegration to society. Structure The Department is headed by the Chief Executive, Barry Matthews, and comprises a number of services and groups: Public Prisons Service The public prison service is responsible for the safe, secure and humane containment of all offenders in custody. It is also charged with managing the sentence needs of each offender, including rehabilitation and reintegration. Probation and Offender Services Probation and Offender Services comprises the service delivery arms of the department. Its three key branches are the Community Probation Service (which manages community-based sentences), the Psychological Service (which provides specialist clinical assessment and treatment services to offenders), and the Intervention Service. Policy Development Group The policy development group provides policy advice, strategic and trend analysis, develops correctional policy, and contributes to legislative reviews and coordinates policy with other government agencies. Corporate Management Group The Corporate Management group provides a range of development, purchasing, planning, monitoring and support services for the Department. It is responsible for the development and maintenance of the department's information technology systems. Strategic Services Group The Strategic Services group The Strategic Services group provides specialist advice and services to help manage the Department. These include strategic human resources, communications, and Internal Audit. Its focus is on the organisational aspects of the department. It also includes the Prison Inspectorate. Finance Group The Finance group works on a variety of finance-related topics, including inmate employment, obtaining and developing sites for new prisons, constructing and maintaining prison facilities, and providing financial services to the Department. See also | |||||||
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