Corrections isn’t totting up likely debt

‘‘It is difficult to quantify the number of people that may be impacted by the issue.’’ Richard Waggott, deputy chief executive corporate services

Corrections is not keeping count of its potential liability to pay compensation to thousands of Kiwi prisoners held in custody too long.

The department was relying on those who could claim compensation wanting to put that part of their life behind them, or not being interested or informed, lawyer Douglas Ewen said.

Ewen, of Wellington, acted for Michael Marino, whose test case went to the Supreme Court. That claim was later settled for $50,000 after he spent an extra 127 days in custody.

Corrections said it had an ‘‘unquantifiable contingent liability’’, it had informed Treasury, and in any event, it had insurance for unlawful detention.

And it won’t be taking any steps to tell its prisoners and former prisoners they might be able to claim compensation, instead relying on media reports to inform potential claimants.

In response to an Official Information Act request, the government department in charge of prisons said it did not know how many prisoners might have been affected by the September 2016 Supreme Court decision changing the way release dates should have been calculated for some inmates, going back about 13 years.

It said the Supreme Court decision about the way pre-sentence detention was taken into account in calculating release dates in some circumstances, raised complex legal issues for Corrections and might be covered in future court proceedings.

‘‘As such, it is difficult to quantify the number of people that may be impacted by the issue, the number who may subsequently lodge claims, and the periods of time involved,’’ said corporate services deputy chief executive Richard Waggott.

Ewen said thousands must be eligible to claim compensation based on the 500 whose release dates were changed immediately after the Supreme Court decision was released.

He thought the department was assiduously not collecting the information.

‘‘I would have to accept there is a legitimate argument not to. It would suck up a lot of time, and to what good end?

‘‘In the absence of a legal obligation, is it a proper allocation of scarce public funds?’’ Ewen said he was acting for a few dozen claimants and knew other lawyers dealing with potential claims.

Marino settled his claim for $50,000, but it’s unclear how much of the money he will see because the law allows victims of any offence for which he was convicted, to ask for a share, and one has applied for some of Marino’s money.