best practice, my officers considered approaches and practices in other jurisdictions, both nationally and internationally.
Nordic/Scandinavian approaches
248. One of the alternative models of case management is the approach taken in Nordic/Scandinavian countries.
249. Norway has one of the lowest recidivism rates in the world at around 20 per cent106.
On 13 May 2015 it had a prison population of 3,710 with an estimated population of 5.19 million citizens107. In September 2014
Victoria’s population was similar at 5.86 million108, however its prison population
was in excess of 6,000.
250. Dr Anna Eriksson, Senior Lecturer in Criminology at Monash University researched and authored/co-authored reports and publications comparing Nordic correctional approaches with those in England, Australia and New Zealand109.
At interview, Dr Eriksson advised that like Victoria, prison officers in Norway undertake the dual role of custodial officer and case manager; however the key difference is the training required:
The difference is that in Norway, for example, the training to become a prison officer is two years. It’s a university level education. Most people already have a university degree going into the prison service. It’s a pretty high status job and it’s part of the welfare state, whereas here [Victoria] it’s low status.
106 Carolyn W Deady, Incarceration and Recidivism: Lessons from
Abroad, March 2014.
107 <www.prisonstudies.org/country/norway> viewed on 6 March 2015.
108 Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian Demographic
Statistics, September 2014.
251. This point was also made in submissions from Dr Bronwyn Naylor, Associate Professor, Monash University and the Monash University Criminology Program and Imprisonment Observatory110. In
its submission, the Monash University Criminology Program referred to the training for prison officer staff in Australia generally and in Victoria specifically as being ‘too basic’111 and that there
was a reluctance by ‘… many prison officers to engage with prisoners on a personal level’ on case management. The Monash University Criminology Program submission stated:
Many prison officers resent the ‘social work’ label that they attach to case management work. This is an issue that needs to be addressed112 …
252. The Monash Criminology Program submission commented that its research suggested that the training for Victorian prison officers in case management is task- focused and not people-focused and that this approach in part ‘… makes the current practice of the case management model ineffective’113.
New Zealand – a throughcare approach
253. The New Zealand model of case management was developed following a review, which identified the need for better continuity of case management and recognised the need to shift responsibility from prison officers to dedicated
throughcare teams114.
110 Comprising Dr Marie Segrave, Dr Anna Eriksson, Dr Claire Spivakosky and Dr Bree Carlton.
111 Monash University, Criminology Program, Submission into
the Ombudsman’s Investigation into the rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners in Victoria, January 2015.
112 ibid. 113 ibid.
114 Doug Martin, Richard Tait and Paul Clarke, Value for money
review of Department of Corrections, New Zealand, July 2009.
254. The review identified a number of issues in keeping with those highlighted by the Monash University Criminology Program submission, including:
• the principles of case management were not understood, leading to a ‘perfunctory, tick box approach’ • the quality of case management
across the system was ‘patchy’; in some cases sentence plans were not monitored actively and case notes not written up
• there is a perception that case management work is seen as having too much of a ‘social work focus’115.
255. The New Zealand model of prisoner case management is now centred on a throughcare approach – from a prisoner’s entry into the system to their eventual release.
256. Like Victoria, prisoners are assigned a prison officer who is their day-to-day case officer, responsible for supporting prisoners to achieve the goals in their offender plans. 257. In addition to support from prison officers,
prisoners in New Zealand are assigned a non-custodial officer as their case manager. These dedicated case managers do not wear uniforms and are part of a broader throughcare team responsible for:
• managing prisoners from the start to the end of their sentence, including initial assessment
• identifying prisoner needs and case planning incorporating specialist rehabilitation and reintegration interviews and services
• facilitating links with the prisoner’s support groups and external providers116.
115 ibid.
116 Corrections Department New Zealand website <www. corrections.govt.nz/about_us/working_with_us/careers/types_ of_careers/prison_based_jobs/case_managers.html> viewed on 15 April 2015.
258. Case managers in New Zealand focus on reducing the likelihood of prisoners reoffending and are involved from the initial assessment.
259. The position description for New Zealand case managers lists tertiary qualifications as desirable, as well as backgrounds in rehabilitative services, allied health services, psychology or social work, together with knowledge of and experience working with Maori and Pacific Peoples and their communities117.
260. Following induction, case managers in New Zealand prisons are given access to a specifically designed core development training program to ensure they have the necessary skills to meet the competencies of the role118.
261. In December 2013, the New Zealand Controller and Auditor-General released a report following an audit which examined the Corrections Department’s success in managing offenders to reduce reoffending. The audit found that prisoners spoke positively about the level of cooperation between their case manager, case worker and probation officer and subsequently about their transition into the community, their release conditions and available support services119.
262. As discussed later in my report, these practices form part of the New Zealand Government’s ‘Reducing Recidivism by 25%’ initiative120, which has resulted in a
10 per cent reduction in New Zealand’s recidivism rate in two years.
117 Department of Corrections, New Zealand, Job Description, Case
Manager, December 2012.
118 <www.corrections.govt.nz/about_us/working_with_us/careers/ types_of_careers/prison_based_jobs/case_managers.html> viewed on 17 April 2015.
119 Controller and Auditor-General, Department of Corrections:
Managing offenders to reduce reoffending, New Zealand,
December 2013.
120 Department of Corrections, New Zealand, RR25per cent –
Reducing Re-offending, Strategy 2014-2017.
263. In response to my draft report, Corrections Victoria advised that
[we] … are interested in the outcomes of New Zealand’s evaluation of their use of non-custodial officers as case managers, the outcomes of which may inform future policy decisions121.
Canada
264. In Canada, the responsibility for
administering prison sentences of two or more years rests with the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC), a Canadian federal government agency122.
265. Rather than the Victorian model of one case manager per prisoner, each prisoner in Canada is assigned a case management team. According to information published by the CSC, the team works together to support the rehabilitation of the prisoner using a throughcare approach. It consists of the following members:
• a correctional officer • a parole officer
• manager of assessment and intervention
• an Aboriginal Liaison Officer if applicable
• an Elder if applicable123.
266. The CSC refers to its case management approach as a ‘dynamic process’, where the team’s responsibilities include:
• an ongoing assessment of an offender’s needs, and the development and implementation of a correctional plan and interventions to meet those needs • the provision of clear behavioural
expectations for the offender to be met within specific timeframes, as well as a regular assessment of the offender’s progress in relation to their correctional plan
121 Corrections Victoria response to Ombudsman’s draft report, 31 July 2015.
122 Correctional Services Canada website <www.csc-scc.gc.ca/ correctional-programs/002001-1000-eng.shtml> viewed on 7 May 2015.
• encouraging the offender to demonstrate progress through responsible behaviour
• controls that are in place to ensure the offender’s correctional plan is realistic and viable124.
267. The CSC aims to streamline its case management processes and maximise its program capacity to ensure that prisoners have the earliest access to the programs required under their correctional plans. 268. The CSC states that it has achieved this by
not restricting access to programs to the daytime operation of the prison. A typical weekday schedule for a prison in Canada includes providing recreation, self-help groups and cultural events in the evening, with final muster or inmate count at 10.30pm and prison lockdown at 11.00pm. By comparison, depending on the prison location or unit in Victoria, a prisoner may be locked down in their cell as early as 4.00pm or as late as 9:30pm.
269. A separate case management team is assigned for Canadian prisoners once they have returned to the community, to provide a network of support for prisoners post-release. These teams may consist of a parole officer, health care professionals and volunteers125.