According to the NZ Herald, a lawyer, a judge and the chairman of the Parole Board, claim the Corrections Department is ‘failing prisoners’ due to a shortage of rehabilitation programmes in prison. The story highlights the case of Blake Hollins-Apiata – a 19-year-old who has been sent to prison twice for violent offending associated with excessive drinking and drug use. The parole board refused to release him early because he has been unable to attend any rehabilitation programmes in prison.
Hollins-Apiata’s lawyer, Julian Hannam, said the case was not uncommon as many inmates were not getting assistance in prison, which often meant they lost hope and motivation. At Hollins-Apiata’s sentencing, even Judge Hikaka criticized Corrections for the delay the teen had experienced getting into a treatment programme. The Parole Board chimed in saying it was “fundamentally wrong” that Hollins-Apiata has been stalled within the prison system.
The reality is that thousands of prisoners struggle to get into programs. Former Corrections Minister, Kelvin Davis, said the problem was due to staffing challenges faced by the Department. The number of inmates able to attend rehabilitation programs provided by Corrections has dropped by two thirds in the last five years. In the 12 months prior to June 2016, 8,372 prisoners attended rehabilitation. By June 2019, the number had fallen to 4,806. Covid 19 lockdowns played a part in this process, as no one was allowed into prisons, including lawyers and programme providers. But since the pandemic ended, the situation has got even worse. The number of prisoners attending rehabilitation has now dropped to 2,086 in the 12 months to June 2022.
Rehab in prison is ineffective
There is no doubt this young man needs to attend rehabilitation as soon as possible. But the perception that rehabilitation in prison would make any difference is fundamentally misguided. This is why. Hollins-Apiata’s offending is alcohol and drug related. Corrections offers addiction treatment in prison in its Drug Treatment Programs (DTP). But this programme is almost totally ineffective. In 2020/21 drug treatment in prison reduced reconvictions by only 2.2% and reimprisonment by 0.6%.[1] In 2021/22, these figures were 3.15% for reconviction and 0.35% for reimprisonment.[2] These are tiny reductions which only occur in the first 12 months after release from prison.
The problem is not confined to addiction treatment. In 2021, the Corrections Department’s Annual Report listed 23 different prison-based interventions intended to reduce reoffending.[3] Corrections assesses the impact of all these programmes in the first 12 months after the prisoners who engaged in them are released. In 2021, the average reduction in reoffending across all 23 programmes was only 2.3%.
In other words, the prison-based rehabilitation programs offered by the Corrections Department do not change behaviour. Despite the fact that these programmes have very little impact on reoffending rates, in 2022, the Department spent $322 million on them.[4]
The AODTC is incredibly effective
There is one rehabilitation strategy that does reduce recidivism – drug courts. There are two such courts in Auckland (known as the AODTC or Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Court), and a third one in Hamilton. To be eligible, defendants have to be facing a prison sentence of up to three years and plead guilty. Each court takes a maximum of 50 participants at any one time and processes about 120 participants a year. The graduation rate is 46%. In each court, that amounts to about 55 graduates a year who get treatment and avoid going to prison.
Between 2012 and 2018, the AODTC was evaluated more extensively than any other justice related intervention in New Zealand history. The Ministry of Justice found it reduced reoffending by 45% (by 86% for graduates). In other words, the AODTC is 15 times more effective at reducing reoffending than the 3% reduction achieved by drug treatment in prison.
What about the cost?
The Ministry says the cost of treatment in the AODTC was $14.46 million over four years. That’s $3.6 million a year. So, if the $322 million spent on prison interventions was spent on drug courts instead, potentially, that would fund 89 new drug courts around the country. I don’t think we need 89 new courts. Let’s say, we set up 20 new drug courts.
Each court processes approximately 100 defendants a year and nearly half of them graduate. So with 20 courts, that would allow around 1,000 defendants a year to avoid going to prison. Since it costs $150,000 to keep one person in prison for one year, that’s a potential saving of $150 million a year. After a couple of years, New Zealand could close a few prisons. And then we wouldn’t have to waste $322 million on prison-based rehabilitation programmes that don’t work. That would be an additional savings.
This is not rocket science. It’s common sense – based on the evidence from the Ministry of Justice about what actually works to reduce reoffending. So instead of blaming the Corrections Department for not providing enough rehabilitation programmes in prison, Government needs to spend taxpayers’ money on programmes which actually work. We need to fund and expand the use of drug courts in New Zealand.
[1] Corrections Annual Report, 2020/21, p.169.
[2] Corrections Annual Report, 2021/22, p. 181.
[3] Corrections Department Annual Report 2020/21, p.169.
[4] Corrections Annual Report, 2021/22, p. 113.
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