07 March 2024
C178093
James
[FYI request #25691 email]
Tēnā koe James
Thank you for your email of 10 February 2024 to the Department of Corrections – Ara
Poutama Aotearoa, requesting information about people on community sentences who
attended Waitangi Day celebrations. Your request has been considered under the Official
Information Act 1982 (OIA).
Corrections manages people at the direction of the Courts and the New Zealand Parole
Board. We do not determine who is in prison and who is in the community. When a person
is subject to electronic monitoring, Corrections is responsible for managing their compliance
with any conditions imposed.
Some people on electronic monitoring require absences to leave their address, such as
people on home detention. Absences can be approved for a variety of reasons, such as
employment, rehabilitation programmes, health matters, or other personal situations. This
allows them to leave their residence for a specific purpose and period of time and is
assessed and approved in advance by their Probation Officer. A number of factors are
considered prior to granting a person an approved absence. This includes their previous
compliance with their sentence, their assessed risk and, the ability to monitor the person
during their absence (for example, verification by an employer, physical presence of a,
“sponsor” during the activity and electronic monitoring).
Other people on electronic monitoring are able to leave their address at times without
requiring the approval of their Probation Officer. Community detention, for example,
restricts an offender’s movements during their curfew. It requires an offender to remain at
an approved residence at certain times specified by the court. This is known as the
offender’s curfew. Electronic monitoring equipment is installed at the offender’s address
and their compliance with their curfew is electronically monitored for the duration of the
sentence. Outside of their curfew hours, they can leave their address at their discretion.
You requested:
Under the OIA I would like to request the following:
How many people if any, attended Waitangi Day celebrations at Waitangi while
under electronic monitoring via ankle bracelets.
NATIONAL OFFICE, WELLINGTON
Mayfair House, 44 – 52 The Terrace, Wellington, 6011, Private Box 1206, Wellington 6140,
Phone +64 4 460 3000
www.corrections.govt.nz
2
How many people if any applied or sought permission to attend Waitangi while
under monitoring by corrections?
How many people if any applied for permission to attend other Waitangi celebrations
throughout NZ while under monitoring by corrections? How many were successful?
What were regions were they from?
Did any non Māori who are being monitored by Corrections apply for permission to
attend any Waitangi Day celebrations?
Corrections does not centrally record information on individuals who attended or applied to
attend Waitangi Day celebrations while on an electronically monitored sentence. Retrieving
this information would require the manual assessment of the files of all people in the
community who are being monitored by Corrections. In accordance with the OIA, we have
considered whether to affix a charge or extend the time limit for responding. However,
given the scale of the request we do not consider that this would be an appropriate use of
our publicly funded resources. Your request is therefore refused under section 18(f) of the
OIA, as the information requested cannot be made available without substantial collation or
research.
As per section 18B of the OIA, we have considered whether consulting with you would
enable the request to be made in a form that would remove the reason for the refusal.
However, we do not consider that the request can be refined in this instance.
Please note that this response may be published on Corrections’ website. Typically,
responses are published quarterly, or as otherwise determined. Your personal information
including name and contact details will be removed for publication.
I trust the information provided is of assistance. I encourage you to raise any concerns
about this response with Corrections. Alternatively, you are advised of your right to also
raise any concerns with the Office of the Ombudsman. Contact details are: Office of the
Ombudsman, PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143.
Ngā mihi
Nic Barkley
Manager Ministerial Services
People and Capability
