Offenders may miss vital care

There are fears a shortage of Corrections psychologists means the highest risk offenders are missing out on vital mental healthcare inside prison and after release, leading to ‘‘major concerns’’ for public safety.

A Corrections psychologist, who did not want to be named, said people were meant to be getting treatment ‘‘and that is not happening’’.

‘‘Public safety is Corrections’ main priority but they don’t seem to connect this to our inability to deliver psychological treatment to the riskiest people.’’

Those are the people who have committed murder, sexual and other serious assaults. They could be dealing with substance abuse, personality disorders or a history of trauma.

‘‘It is very challenging . . . and requires a high level of expertise,’’ they said.

‘‘Every time you hear of something terrible happening in the community, you wonder if that is someone on your caseload or feel some responsibility for what they are doing.

‘‘We wonder if that is someone on our wait list. And maybe would not have done what they did if they had the help they needed.’’

Psychological treatment is targeted at those with the highest risk of serious re-offending, while psychological assessments are essential for parole board hearings.

If a prisoner does not do anything to reduce their risk, the parole board is less likely to release them. Not being able to see a psychologist can slow down the process.

‘‘If they get to the end of their sentence without seeing a psychologist, they get released anyway.’’

Many high-risk prisoners are supposed to be able to see a Corrections psychologist once they have been released, with it being a requirement for some.

The psychologist said several areas in the country, Auckland especially, were facing major problems in providing treatment. They said that despite the prison population falling, the demand on psychologists had not, with individuals having committed ‘‘severe offences still needing serious rehabilitation’’.

‘‘There are lots of great things in working for Corrections, it is fulfilling, it is challenging but it needs to be attractive.’’

The Public Service Association (PSA), which represents many of the unionised psychologists working in prisons, said the situation was in crisis, ‘‘they are very, very short of staff and they are having a massive difficulty recruiting because the pay is so low’’.

The PSA’s Josephine O’Connor said the staff she worked on behalf of were ‘‘desperately worried about the implications of there not being enough psychologists’’.

‘‘Those people are not just entitled to the treatment to reduce the risk of further offending, the victims are entitled to them receiving that treatment too.’’

Corrections’ general manager of psychology, Jessica Borg, said public safety was the priority, ‘‘and we are committed to reducing reoffending and giving people in prison every opportunity to turn their lives around’’.

She said there was a significant shortage of psychologists in New Zealand and internationally.

‘‘In recent years, we have experienced recruitment and retention challenges due to border restrictions, increased demand for psychologists and a highly competitive employment market.’’

Corrections has 27 vacancies currently, and has launched ‘‘a number of initiatives to attract and retain psychologists’’.

‘‘In the past year, our capacity to deliver both group programmes and one-on-one treatment in prisons and the community has been limited by multiple factors.

‘‘While having some psychologist vacancies has had an impact, the most significant factor has been our response to Covid-19,’’ Borg said.

Provided inmates were eligible and motivated to complete rehabilitation programmes, ‘‘they are routinely provided with an opportunity to take part’’ before their parole date.

As of October 31, Corrections employed 172 registered psychologists, including some graduates, intern psychologists, and trainees.

Borg said they also used private psychologists from a group of 42 for priority tasks and paid them standard market rates. Corrections has increased the number of private psychologists in recent years.

As of September 30, there were almost 8000 prisoners.

Motivational speaker and author Paul Wood, who spent 11 years in prison, called the services of psychologists ‘‘life-changing’’.

‘‘It is one of the most important, useful things you could get. Someone who can give you insights and tools to better manage yourself and pursue a life of meaning,’’ Wood said.

He said people had a false idea that rehabilitation services were always available in prison.

‘‘I still know it is massively difficult. It is next to near impossible to get the type of resources that genuinely support long-term change in rehab.’’