Recommendation 119

This recommendation is assigned to CSNSW.

Recommendation

That Corrective Services authorities ensure that Aboriginal offenders are not being denied opportunities for probation and parole by virtue of the lack of adequate numbers of trained support staff or of infrastructure to ensure monitoring of such orders.

Context

The Royal Commission found that probation was the most widely used court-based non-custodial option, the most important post-prison option was parole. The Royal Commission acknowledged that the Probation and Parole service in NSW (now Community Corrections) was aware that the system of supervised probation and parole ‘did not well serve’ the interests of Aboriginal people and that NSW was moving to involve Aboriginal communities to assist in the supervision of offenders. At the time of the 300 probation and parole officers in NSW, only 3 were identified as Aboriginal probation and parole officers and 4 liaison officers. The Royal Commission found a clear need to employ more aboriginal people in the service. Recommendation 119 is directed at ensuring there are adequate numbers of trained Aboriginal staff and appropriate infrastructure to monitor community based orders including parole orders.

Detail of implementation

Reforms to community-based sentencing in September 2018 removed structural barriers for offenders accessing community-based sentences (such as the mandatory 32 hours community service work component of the old Intensive Correction Order). Community based sentences are now accessible state-wide. CSNSW Community Corrections staff supervise offenders across NSW through face-to-face and virtual interviews. Community Corrections staff travel to remote reporting centres and to complete home visits.

Since 2018 CSNSW has offered psychology services and therapeutic group programs via videoconferencing on a platform called LiViT. Through the use of technology, LiViT addresses access barriers that may otherwise prevent offenders from engaging with the services and programs they need.

Remote Service delivery team (RSDT)

Community Corrections ensures services are prioritised to those offenders who present the greatest risk to community safety. The Remote Service Delivery Team (RSDT) was established to assist in managing offender risk and workload fluctuations around the state. The team provides remote supervision of suitable offenders to assist Community Corrections offices with resource pressures and responsibility for offenders with high risk profiles. This enables support to be targeted to areas with the highest need and resources targeted around the state as needed.

Support for locations is constantly reprioritised as workload pressures and offender risk shift around the state. The team are now supervising 632 offenders and supporting 26 offices across the state.

This reduces the need for these locations to suspend supervision of medium risk offenders due to workload or resourcing pressures. It also enables the local office to provide quality service to their high-risk offenders. Priority for the RSDT is determined through the use of a state-wide risk assessment tool. 

The RSDT was established in late January 2021 with 12 staff and commenced managing offenders in February 2021. All 45 members of the RSDT team have now been recruited – they are located across the state, from locations as diverse as Tweed Heads to Broken Hill, Sydney and Albury. 

Feedback received from around the state has been very positive regarding the efficient and professional support being provided by the team.

Aboriginal Community Engagement and Culture Officers (ACECOs)

Community Corrections also employs 26 Aboriginal Community Engagement and Culture Officers (ACECOs) over 25 locations.  The role of the ACECO is to lobby on behalf of an inmate for parole and to assist that person with their community connections.  The ACECO also helps to communicate the individual’s needs to community corrections.

Treasury demand funding model 

Community Corrections also receives supplementary funding through the Department of Communities and Justice’s demand funding model.  This model was endorsed by Expenditure Review Committee in 2018 as a mechanism to request additional funding in response to anticipated changes in the offender population.  The model covers the full spectrum of costs associated with managing offenders on community-based sentences and parole, including Community Corrections staff and the cost of delivering offender programs and services.