Four murders weren't enough.

In October 2010, former Corrections Minister Judith Collins claimed that “Probation compliance rates have doubled”. Sounds good doesn’t it? But what does it really mean.

1) Compliance by probation officers:

Ms Collins is talking about the compliance of probation officers with administrative protocols not compliance by offenders with their sentence or release conditions. Probation officers have certain specified duties. If an offender fails to turn up to an appointment or breaches his sentence in any way, the probation officer is required to take specific action – such as charging the offender and taking him back to court.

Improved performance by Probation does not necessarily mean that offenders are behaving themselves any better. It means that probation officers are ‘behaving’ better - following through and taking action when sentence conditions are breached.

For many years the Probation Service has been under-resourced and probation officers often did not always follow through. The public and politicians were one the wiser until there were two high profile disasters – three people murdered in the Panmure RSA by William Bell in 2001 and another by Graeme Burton in 2007.

2) Four murders weren’t enough:

The current improvement in Probation’s performance only came about after three separate investigations into the Probatio Service: the first into William Bell’s case; the second into the murder of Karl Kuchenbecker by Graeme Burton; and the third by the Auditor General in 2009. The Auditor General examined the cases of 100 parolees being managed by Probation and released a highly critical report.

Frequently, Probation officers were not even carrying out important procedures the Department agreed to adopt soon after the Burton debacle. In other words, even the deaths of four innocent victims were insufficient incentive for Corrections to improve its performance. Only a negative report by the Auditor General followed by embarrassing questions in Parliament achieved that.

3) Little more than band aid:

What does this improved performance mean?  It means that offenders are returned to court or to prison for minor breaches - but it doesn’t mean they will receive any education, work training or rehabilitation in prison. Nor does it mean that the Department will provide accommodation, alcohol and drug treatment or aftercare for prisoners on release. And the chances are that it won’t.

Improved performance by probation officers is unlikely to improve the performance of offenders. It just recycles them through the justice system more rapidly. The more time they spend in prison, the more likely they are to re-offend on release. Unless criminals are able to access rehabilitation and are properly supported in the community, increased compliance by Probation Officers is little more than band aid. What’s worse is that it takes the focus off the lack of compliance by offenders – 52% of prisoners are back in prison within 5 years. For those under the age of 20, the figure is 70%.

For more information about the extraordinary disconnect between public statements made by Ms Collins and what really goes on in Corrections, read Flying Blind.