NCJ Number
81620
Date Published
1980
Length
36 pages
Annotation
This report presents information on the activities of each division (corrections, courts, patents, probation, commercial affairs, land and deeds, etc.) of the New Zealand Department of Justice for the year ended March 31, 1980.
Abstract
The Planning and Development Division has completed research on the compilation of jury rolls, on reparation, and on suspended sentences. The Courts Division has attempted to make the court more accessible to the public, and the Penal Division has focused on intercepting drugs entering prisons through altered visiting procedures. The number of male and female inmates has increased, and facilities for female inmates are inadequate to cope with their numbers. The opening of the Manawatu Youth Institution is a major event. It will offer training to younger offenders and thus increase the number of reform efforts available to the division. The Probation Division is in the process of reevaluating its role in the department. The shift in emphasis in the courts to sentences of periodic detention instead of probation indicate that the division needs to modify the kinds of programs it will offer in the future. In other divisions, activities have tended to reflect the prevailing climate. The Commercial Affairs Division has noted that in the last 3 years liquidations have doubled in number. The Land and Deeds Division has also noticed a drop in the number of instruments registered, although the Patent Office has recorded an increase in applications. Information is also given on prisoners' aid and rehabilitation, on marriage guidance counseling, on the department's finances, on the Wanganui Computer Center, and on the Tribunals Division. Statistical data are appended. Tables are included. (Author summary modified)