Minister congratulates CPPS on improved compliance

Corrections Minister Judith Collins today congratulated Community Probation and Psychological Services (CPPS) for a significant improvement in complying with procedures for managing parolees.

CPPS achieved a rate of 88 percent staff compliance in June 2009, a dramatic turnaround from 51 percent compliance in September 2008.

"Community safety has to be the No 1 priority when releasing prisoners on parole. As we saw with Graeme Burton, the consequences of lapses in process can be devastating," Ms Collins said.

"Following the Auditor-General's report in February, which identified many shortcomings in the way parole was managed, CPPS has been working hard to improve results.

"CPPS is to be congratulated for the June result, which has been achieved through considerable additional effort from staff and managers.

"While there are never any guarantees there will not be another tragedy, it gives the public greater confidence that there has been an increased focus on safety."

Ms Collins said the Government inherited a probation system under extreme stress.

The previous Labour Government increased the number and complexity of community based sentences without providing enough resources or training of probation staff.

The Government will inject an extra $255.9 million into the probation service to address issues raised in the Auditor-General's report. Funding in the Budget will increase the number of probation officers by 13.3%.

It has also appointed an Expert Panel to oversee improvements at CPPS.