BUDGET 2012: Govt targets reoffending criminals
Reducing prisoner reoffending by a quarter by 2017 will mean 18,500 fewer victims of crime, the government says.
Hot Topic
EARNINGS
Savings in the justice sector will now be able to be transferred between agencies and across years.
The government also announced in today's budget it wants to reduce prisoner reoffending by 25% by 2017, which it says would mean 18,500 fewer victims of crime every year.
The Corrections Department will spend $65m over four years trying to reach the new target.
A $3.8 billion funding pool has been established covering Court, Correction, Justice, Police, Attorney-General and Serious Fraud Office, Justice Minister Judith Collins announced today.
She says it gives executives an incentive and a means to prioritise resources.
Decisions have to be made about what works and what doesn't, and resources needed to be shifted to frontline services, she says.
The Corrections Department has already made $87m in savings, which has been transferred to the funding pool.
"Everything we do needs to be geared towards keeping crime falling and ensuring those who need justice get access to it."
Annual operating police funding will stay at $1.5b.
Other justice-related announcements include modernising the courts, by making new technology increasingly available, "more efficient" court services and streamlining under the Criminal Procedure Act.
David Williams
Thu, 24 May 2012
Thu, 24 May 2012
© All content copyright NBR. Do not reproduce in any form without permission, even if you have a paid subscription.
BUDGET 2012: Govt targets reoffending criminals
20986