Over 2.1 million hours of free labour provided in 2015

In 2015 over 31,500 people sentenced to community work provided more than 2.1 million hours of free labour to charities and community projects around New Zealand.

“Community work provides an opportunity for cases to give back to the community and provide a form of reparation for the harm or damage they have caused,” Chief Probation Officer Darius Fagan says.

“It allows offenders an opportunity to take responsibility for their offending and learn new skills and work habits.”

Community work projects include gardening, building walking tracks, painting, helping food banks and removing graffiti.

“We aim to engage people in meaningful projects where they can see a tangible benefit to their community,” says Darius. “We hope that this results in more of a connection to their community and supports reducing reoffending.”

“Community work helps a number of community groups progress activities that they otherwise may not have been able to do without the labour provided by Corrections.”

Community work is completed in supervised work parties or through projects sponsored by eligible agencies. This gives the community unpaid labour on a wide variety of projects.

Offenders can be sentenced to do between 40 and 400 hours of community work.

Projects around New Zealand include:

· Auckland offenders have been helping to smarten up Western Springs and Mt Smart stadiums.

· Kaipara offenders build planter boxes and plant fruit trees and vegetables at Te Kopuru community garden in Dargaville.

· Rotorua offenders have been clearing land and fish spawning areas, and developing new and renovating existing walking tracks.

· Work parties in Ruatoria and Tolaga Bay assisted with the clean up following the destruction caused by ex-tropical Cyclone Pam.

· Ohakune offenders helped lay the concrete path at Carrot Domain, as well as plant shrubs.

· Offenders in Whanganui spent 3,000 hours cleaning up Kowhai Park following last year’s flood.

· Southland offenders have been repainting and clearing pathways around the historic Bluff gunpit.

· Canterbury offenders have been working with the Cass Bay Reserves Management Committee to clear weeds and maintain tracks.

ENDS

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