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The New Zealand Parole Board is an independent statutory body established in 2002 that considers offenders for parole. Its task "is to undertake an assessment of the risk that long-term sentenced offenders might pose to the safety of the community if they were to be released before the end of their sentence". The Board also sets conditions of release for offenders so their reintegration back in to the community can be effectively managed. Once the conditions are set it becomes the responsibility of Community Corrections to manage the offender."〔(About Us ), NZ Parole Board〕 'Long term' is defined as more than 24 months. Short-term prisoners (on sentences of less than two years) are automatically released after serving half their sentence. Hon. Warwick Gendall was appointed as chairperson of the board in 2012.〔(Gendall named new head of parole board ), Dominion Post 29 May 2012〕 == History == As a British Colony, New Zealand adopted the penal system common in Britain and the country’s first jails were established in the 1840s. At that time, prisoners were crammed together regardless of their age, gender, mental health problems or crimes. Conditions were harsh and based on the concepts of retribution and deterrence rather than rehabilitation.〔(Early prisons 1840-1879 ), The Encyclopedia of New Zealand〕 When the country was divided into provinces in 1853, the administration of prisons was controlled by provincial governments.〔(Provincial control ), The Encyclopedia of New Zealand〕 In 1876 the provinces were abolished and the colonial government established a standardised national prison system.〔(Developing a national prison system, 1880–1949 ) The Encyclopedia of New Zealand〕 At this time in New Zealand's history, there was no concept of parole or early release. In 1881 an authoritarian army officer, Colonel Arthur Hume, was appointed as the first Inspector-General of prisons (and later Commissioner of Police). He started a major prison-building programme and advocated for the introduction of the Habitual Criminals Act passed in 1906 ‘for the indeterminate detention of incorrigible offenders’. He also introduced an early version of parole whereby prisoners were given credit for good behaviour and hard work that could lead to earlier release.〔(Changing the prison system ), Prof Tony Taylor, 2011 p 24〕 Managing released prisoners required a form of probation service. An early version of the New Zealand Probation Service was introduced in 1886.〔Blameless Babes, Dame Sian Elias, Shirley Smith Address, 9 July 2009, Victoria University Law review, 2009 (40) p591.〕 Hume retired in 1909, allowing Minister of Justice Sir John Findlay to introduce a more rehabilitative approach to the treatment of prisoners.〔(Changing the prison system ), Prof Tony Taylor, 2011 p 24〕 The next year, the Crimes Amendment Act established Prison Boards which determined the length of prison sentences. If the local board considered a prisoner to be 'reformed' they could be released on probation, although the board could also keep ‘habitual criminals’ in jail indefinitely. But meaningful change was slow. In 1928, H.G. Mason, who eventually became the Minister of Justice, said in parliament that it was the function of the prisons ‘to imprison, to flog, to hang, not to care for a man in any other way’.〔New Zealand Parliamentary Debates, 1928, 217, 689-690 quoted in (Changing the prison system ) by Prof Tony Taylor, p 26〕 Public awareness of the need for prison reform grew stronger in the 1940s, but little changed until John Robson and Sam Barnett headed up the Department of Justice in the 1950s and 1960s. They engaged psychologists in the treatment of prisoners for the first time, introduced release on work parole for inmates near the end of their sentences,〔(Prison reform, 1909–24 ), New Zealand's prisons The Encyclopedia of New Zealand〕 and in the process, 'rejuvenated the Prison Parole Board'.〔(Changing the prison system ), Prof Tony Taylor, 2011 p 28〕 Today the Corrections Department continues to use psychologists to write reports on prisoners appearing for parole and to assess their risk of re-offending.〔(Risk of re-Conviction X Risk of re-Imprisonment model (RoC *RoI) ) Corrections Department website〕 During this time prisons and parole were still administered by 17 District Prison Boards and the National Parole Board.〔(History and Structure ), NZ Parole Board〕 In the 1990s a number of high-profile violent crimes led, once again, to calls for longer prison sentences and a more punitive approach. In 2002 the Parole Act was passed setting up today's Parole Board. The same year the (Sentencing Act 2002 ) introduced longer prison sentences for many crimes as well as stricter conditions for those facing parole.〔(New Zealand’s prisons ) The Encyclopedia of New Zealand〕 In 2009, chief justice Dame Sian Elias noted that during her tenure there had been a substantial shift in the focus of criminal justice placing emphasis on the victims of crime. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「New Zealand Parole Board」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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