Kohuora Auckland South Corrections Facility, a Serco-run high security men's prison located at Wiri, in Auckland. Photo: RNZ / Sam Olley
A private prison operator has been paid millions for reoffending rates that are incredibly low, even by international standards.
Serco hit a rate, at South Auckland prison, of just 13.6 percent inmates reoffending within two years of release, compared to almost 34 percent at prisons run by Corrections.
Corrections says this was mostly to do with the type of prisoner at Auckland South (long term, serious offending) - but the UK company was still paid $6 million in bonuses in the last four years.
Those incentive payments sparked international interest about ways to reduce stubbornly high recidivism.
Globally, the rates sit about 30 to 40 percent (though many countries count it differently, or not at all).
Even Norway, famous for low rates, had rates about 20 percent - about 50 percent higher than Serco's.
A graph showing recidivism rates at Auckland South Corrections Facility, and nationally, between 2017 and 2023 - data supplied in response to an Official Information Act request to the Department of Corrections. Photo: Supplied/ Department of Corrections
(The Justice Ministry records a much higher recidivism rate of 56 percent; RNZ has asked why the difference).
Corrections was not sure why the ministry figure was higher, but suggested it may be because it included remand and maximum-security prisoners, who are not included when it does a comparison with Serco's figure.
RNZ asked Corrections if it was studying Serco's success at New Zealand's second largest prison, to see if it could replicate it at the country's 17 other prisons.
It did not say it was, instead stating two reasons it did not need to:
"Our data analysis has determined that this is largely down to the prison demographics," it said.
Also, "many of these people will have undertaken treatment programmes within the public prison service prior to arrival at ASCF [Auckland South Corrections Facility]."
Corrections did not compare its rehab services to Serco's, it said in an Official Information Act response, but did not say why not.
To try to compare the recidivism rates was "somewhat of a false comparison", said Corrections research manager Bronwyn Morrison.
A New York Times opinion piece [https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/14/opinion/private-prisons-australia-new-zealand.html
in 2018 noted overseas interest] in the Serco bonuses tied to lowering recidivism, at a time most private prison contractors were only required to match what a government was doing.
It is possible that international interest would be reinvigorated now - by Serco's success since 2021, attested to by the $6m in bonuses. But any trace of study into this has not been possible to find.
Since the Auckland public-private contract was signed in 2012, Serco has twice missed the bonus - between 2018 and 2020.
The bonus is not subject to any review or renegotiation during the 25-year contract period.
Since 2020-21, it had picked up the maximum $1.5m a year bonus, at the same time as sometimes being penalised a couple of hundred thousand for violence or other breaches.
Both private and public recidivism rates have been dropping year-on-year, though Serco's much faster, halving since 2017's 26 percent.
Rates for Māori inmates have dropped, too, but remain much higher than overall rates.
The drop in Corrections' so-called 'Reoffending Index' runs counter to a growing prison population, with the muster of 10,000 inmates up about 2000 on three years ago.
One of the government's top four priorities for prisons is "reducing reoffending through effective rehabilitation".
At Auckland South, rehab services did not fully measure up, an official inspection in 2022 found.
"We noted that prisoners faced long waiting lists for some rehabilitative programmes, or needed to move to other prisons to access programmes for high risk sex offenders or Drug Treatment Units," it said.
Things had improved since 2017 but "demand outweighs capacity".
Corrections said it made every effort to provide rehabilitation but it was complex to match willing prisoners off a wait list according to the type of rehabilitation and prioritisation.
Corrections noted it collaborated with Serco on some rehab programmes. It offers up to 90 programmes and activities in prisons.
The 'recidivism index' Serco is judged by, basically counts prisoners who reoffend within two years of release. For short-term prisoners it is about 50 percent, and a bit under half that for inmates who had done a long stint.
Despite Corrections statement that prison demographics were behind Serco's low rate, elsewhere it stated the index compared similar prisoners between the two.
As for prisoners doing rehab elsewhere, before going to Auckland South, official studies found that transferring prisoners could undermine rehab by interrupting services.
Serco's rates of staff turnover at Auckland South were only about half of those at all other prisons other than Rolleston, OIA figures showed.
The company lists cultural programmes reconnecting inmates with culture and whānau as key, including one called Pūwhakamua set up by a former offender.
Serco said its focus was "to run a safe and secure facility" where people were rehabilitated.
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