21 May 2025
C196149
Georgina
[FYI request #30727 email]
Tēnā koe Georgina
Thank you for your email of
15 April 2025 to the Department of Corrections – Ara Poutama
Aotearoa, requesting information about rehabilitation care and treatment options for sexual
offending. Your request has been considered under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA).
Reducing reoffending and keeping our communities safe are our top priorities. People in
prison and people serving community-based sentences have access to a range of
rehabilitation and reintegration services. These include offence-focused programmes,
educational opportunities, vocational and employment training, health services, mental
health and addiction programmes, cultural support services, motivational programmes,
intensive residential programmes, and transitional accommodation support. These services
support people to address the causes of their offending and provide a strong foundation to
help them live crime-free.
I have addressed each part of your request below.
Is rehabilitative care mandatory for all sexual offenders?
Do all sexual offenders receive comprehensive rehabilitative care while in prison?
Corrections’ case managers work with people in prison to identify their rehabilitation needs
and match these with available programmes to be completed throughout their sentence.
Each person’s rehabilitative and reintegrative pathway is unique and based on many
considerations including the nature of their offending, their risk of re‐offending, their
physical and mental health, and the support they have around them. A person’s eligibility to
participate in a particular programme can also depend on a variety of factors, including a
person’s security classification, their identified risks and their willingness to engage.
Corrections’ psychological interventions are informed by the Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR)
model which guides evidence informed best practice. The RNR model indicates that those
with more assessed offence-related needs and a higher risk of re-offending should be
offered the opportunity for more comprehensive and intensive rehabilitation than those
with less offence-related needs and less risk of re-offending.
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
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Corrections has systems to assess risk for those with convictions for sexual offending and
triage their priority and needs. Upon sentencing, people are triaged with the help of the
Automated Sexual Recidivism Scale - Revised (ASRS-R), a static risk assessment tool. Those
who are eligible for a programme addressing sexual offending are then further triaged
based on their readiness and those who are then considered both eligible and suitable for
treatment undergo a comprehensive assessment to ensure the treatment programme will
meet their individual needs.
For treatment to be successful, people in prison must be motivated and ready to actively
take part. Additionally, if an individual is not willing to engage fully with a programme or
service, this can negatively impact rehabilitation outcomes for themselves and others and
can increase the risk of further serious offending. For these reasons, people in prison are not
compel ed to attend treatment. The New Zealand Parole Board will also take into account
whether an individual has completed a programme or service listed on their sentence plan
when granting parole.
Are there gender-specific rehabilitation programs for sexual offenders within the
Department of Corrections?
What treatment options are available for women sexual offenders within prison and
out in the community?
In men’s prisons we have Special Treatment Units (STUs) that deliver the Moderate Intensity
Psychology Programme (MIPP) for child sexual offending and our higher intensity
programmes, namely STU: Child Sexual Offending (CSO) or STU: Adult Sexual Offending
(ASO). Corrections psychologists also provide one to one rehabilitation which is largely
focused on supporting individuals to increase their readiness to engage with the group-
based programme identified as best meeting their offence-related needs.
In Tongariro Prison there is also Te Anga Whakamua, a programme designed for men who
maintain their innocence in their sexual offending conviction. Te Anga Whakamua does not
directly challenge an individual’s stance of innocence but focuses on taking responsibility for
future behaviour and addresses risk-related behaviour and, therefore, is designed to reduce
the risk of further sexual allegation or conviction.
Due to the extremely small number of women convicted of sexual offending, it is not
possible to routinely deliver rehabilitation in a group context. Women convicted of this
offending are able to access one-to-one rehabilitation with a psychologist following risk
assessments and triage of priority and needs while in prison.
Corrections also has two options available to people serving a sentence or order within the
community, dependent on a person meeting the relevant criteria. While both options are
for individual one-to-one therapy one is with a psychologist and the other is through a
contracted Harmful Sexual Behaviour (HSB) provider such as Stop, Wellstop, SAFE Network
or Korowai Tumanako.
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Please note that this response may be published on Corrections’ website. Typical y,
responses are published quarterly or as otherwise determined. Your personal information
including name and contact details will be removed for publication.
I hope this information is helpful. I encourage you to raise any concerns about this response
with Corrections. Alternatively, you are advised of your right to raise any concerns with the
Office of the Ombudsman. Contact details are: Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box 10152,
Wel ington 6143.
Ngā mihi
Dr Juanita Ryan
Deputy Chief Executive Pae Ora
