Manager's Report
The New Zealand Parole Board is an independent statutory body - under the Parole Act 2002, the Department of Corrections is required to provide Administrative Support Services to the Board.
The diagram on page 18 of this report sets out the structure of the Administrative Support Service. Performance outputs for the Administrative Support Service are set out in the Department of Correction’s Statement of Intent and relate to:
- percentage of offenders or victims notified of a pending hearing at least 10 working days before a hearing (performance standard 95%)
- percentage of offenders or registered victims notified of a Board decision within 10 working days after a hearing (95%)
- percentage of papers for home detention (deferred sentences) hearings provided to the Board at least five working days before a hearing (95%)
- percentage of all other papers for each hearing provided to the Board at least 10 working days before a hearing (95%)
- the scheduling of cases to be heard by the Board to be within the timeframe specified in the Parole Act 2002 (100%)
I am pleased to report that the Administrative Support Service achieved each of these performance standards in 2005/06.
The past 12 months have seen key developments on several fronts. At the end of June 2005 we farewelled His Honour Tony Ellis from the role of Chairman. Mr Ellis was appointed in June 2002 and had the challenge of leading the Board in its first three years of operation. After farewelling Mr Ellis, we welcomed Judge David Carruthers to the role of Chairman in July 2005. Judge Carruthers was formerly the Chief District Court Judge. In recognition of the amount of work involved as Chairman, Judge Carruthers was appointed to the role on a fulltime basis.
A move in premises saw the Board’s Head Office and Central region operations relocate from Mayfair House, which also housed the Department of Corrections Head Office, to Pastoral House. This move is in keeping with the independent status of the Board.
This year the Board’s administration has organised successful national conferences for Members in Auckland, and Nelson. Biannual conferences will continue, with plans also underway for an international conference, to be hosted by the Board in Rotorua in September 2007.
The Administration was involved in the coordination of a four-day training programme for the four Judges who joined the Board as panel convenors in February 2006. The contents of the training programme were agreed with the Chairman.
An initial trial of video conferencing technology has proved successful and a second stage of trials, involving the three regional offices, has been agreed. This next phase is now underway. Also in the area of technology, laptops have been made available to all Members as a step towards greater use of electronic transfer of information. At present, the Administration uses considerable volumes of paper in producing files for Board Members. Research is being undertaken by the Board’s Information Technology Committee on the possibility of using technology as the vehicle for providing the background information that Members need when considering offenders for parole or home detention.
I congratulate and thank the administration staff for their work through the last 12 months, and pay particular tribute to Mihi McLean, a long-time administrator, who retired in February 2006 for health reasons.
Also special thanks to Steve Rendle who resigned on 30 June 2006. Steve was the Board’s Communications Manager and was instrumental in the development of a number of Board initiatives, including the website.
The coming year will no doubt be full of challenges but I am confident the Board’s administration will rise to those challenges.
Alistair Spierling
Manager
Administrative Support Service