The Minister of Corrections in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

is the

cabinet member This is a list of the offices of heads of state, heads of government, cabinet, and legislature, of sovereign states. Date of Origin refers to most recent fundamental change in form of government, for example independence, change from absolute ...

appointed by the Prime Minister to be in charge of the

Department of Corrections In criminal justice, particularly in North America, correction, corrections, and correctional, are umbrella terms describing a variety of functions typically carried out by government agencies, and involving the punishment, treatment, and su ...

. The current Minister of Corrections is Kelvin Davis.

Responsibilities

The Minister of Corrections is responsible for determining policy and exercising statutory powers and functions related to the Corrections portfolio. The Minister is also responsible to Parliament for ensuring the Department of Corrections carries out its functions properly and efficiently. Legislation related to the Corrections portfolio includes the

Corrections Act 2004 In criminal justice, particularly in North America, correction, corrections, and correctional, are umbrella terms describing a variety of functions typically carried out by government agencies, and involving the punishment, treatment, and su ...

(and accompanying regulations in the Corrections Regulations 2005), the Criminal Justice Act 1985, the

Parole Act 2002 Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

, and the

Sentencing Act 2002 In law, a sentence is the punishment for a crime ordered by a trial court after conviction in a criminal procedure, normally at the conclusion of a trial. A sentence may consist of imprisonment, a fine, or other sanctions. Sentences for mult ...

. The Minister of Corrections is also responsible for: *Giving general directions to the Chief Executive of the Department relating to the exercise of their powers and functions. *Any other powers and functions conferred under the Corrections Act 2004 or regulations made under it. *Setting pay rates for part-time

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...

officers. *Declaring land or buildings to be a

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

or community work centre. *Requisitioning land and buildings in an emergency. *Approving pay rates for working

prisoners A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...

. *Setting the cost of

imprisonment Imprisonment is the restraint of a person's liberty, for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is "false imprisonment". Imprisonment does not necessari ...

so it can be deducted from the earnings of prisoners on "release to work". *Consenting to the Chief Executive contracting out escort and courtroom custodial services.

List of ministers

The following ministers have held the office of Minister of Corrections. ;Key

References

{{NZ ministerial portfolios Law enforcement in New Zealand

Corrections In criminal justice, particularly in North America, correction, corrections, and correctional, are umbrella terms describing a variety of functions typically carried out by government agencies, and involving the punishment, treatment, and su ...

Political office-holders in New Zealand