Prisoners Temporary Release Scheme: Home Detention Curfew: Amendment

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A decision made 14 August 2013:

Decision Reference: MD-HA-2013-0048
Decision Summary Title :	Amended temporary release scheme		Date of Decision Summary:	7 August 2013
Decision Summary Author:	Prison Governor		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	n/a
Written Report Title :	Prisoners Temporary Release Scheme (Amended August 2013)		Date of Written Report:	8 August 2013
Written Report Author:	Prison Governor		Written Report : Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Subject: Change to temporary release policy.
Decision(s): The Minister gave approval for the Prisoners Temporary Release Scheme (amended August 2013) to come into immediate effect.
Reason(s) for Decision: The current policy provides that prisoners are not eligible for release on Home Detention Curfew if they are not in paid employment. However, paid work is becoming increasingly difficult to find in the current economic climate and some prisoners have made extensive enquiries and applications for paid work without success. The change to the policy will enable those prisoners, who can evidence that they have made extensive efforts to secure paid employment, to be eligible for consideration for Home Detention Curfew.
Resource Implications: Nil
Action required: The Prison Governor to inform prisoners and other interested parties (Probation and Police) of changes to the Temporary Leave Scheme.
Signature:		Position: Minister for Home Affairs
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Prisoners Temporary Release Scheme: Home Detention Curfew: Amendment

Report for the Minister for Home Affairs

Change to the Temporary Release Policy at the Prison

Prisoners who have been tested on the other aspects of the temporary release scheme (community visits, community work and home leave) are eligible to apply for Home Detention Curfew (HDC) during the last few months of their sentence.

However, it is a requirement for the prisoner to be in paid employment and the number of prisoners progressing on to HDC over the past year or so has been very low, as it has proved increasingly difficult to secure paid work.

HDC is a very important part of the scheme as this assists the prisoner’s reintegration back into the community and reduces the risk of reoffending.

Unemployment remains high and this is likely to be a significant inhibitor to the Temporary Release Scheme for some time to come. Consequently, it is proposed that we amend the scheme to introduce some flexibility in regard to employment and allow prisoners to be considered for HDC without having to secure paid work.

Paragraph 5 (j) of the Temporary Release Policy states, “Prisoners will not be eligible for release on Home Curfew if they are not in paid employment.”

It is proposed that the policy be amended to state -– “Prisoners will not generally be eligible for release on Home Curfew if they are not in paid employment. However, should a prisoner be able to evidence that he/she has made extensive efforts to secure paid work, the Temporary Release Panel (or the Governor, if the Panel has given approval in principle) may give approval for HDC while still on community work, or a combination of part-time paid work and unpaid community work”.