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Corrections Minister Anne Tolley has officially opened new community probation centres in Thames and Tauranga.

The Thames centre cost $1.4 million to build, with the Tauranga South facility costing $1.2 million, and each will provide safer and more modern environments for Corrections staff and community groups.

“Our staff work extremely hard to keep communities safe and to try and help offenders turn their lives around,” says Mrs Tolley.

Corrections Minister Anne Tolley says prison performance tables have been introduced for the first time to enable greater transparency and accountability to taxpayers.

All 17 prisons are now measured on their performance against each other in a range of areas including security, assaults, drug tests and rehabilitation programmes. They are then categorised in four performance grades, with the resulting tables released quarterly.

The information is used by Corrections and prison managers to identify and share successful practices, and focus on areas which need improvement.

Corrections Minister Anne Tolley says the Administration of Community Sentences and Orders Bill has passed its second reading in Parliament.

The Bill amends the Bail Act 2000, Parole Act 2002 and Sentencing Act 2002 to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Corrections sentences and orders in the community.

It also introduces a number of policy changes and provides clarification for aspects of home detention, community-based sentences and electronic monitoring.

Police Minister Anne Tolley says Labour need to stop using Police as a political football, and let them get on with the job of reducing and preventing crime.

"Police are working smarter and better, with the right people in the right places at the right time to prevent crime from taking place," says Mrs Tolley.

"We are seeing fantastic results. Crime rates have fallen for two years in a row and are now at a thirty year low.

Police Minister Anne Tolley says illegal street racing offences have fallen by 35 per cent since 2009, after the National-led Government introduced legislation to combat boy racers.

Offences dropped from 2738 in 2009 to 1759 in 2012. In the same period, road deaths for 15-24 year olds reduced from 105 to 65.

“We are seeing encouraging results, with almost a thousand fewer offences in 2012 compared to 2009, but the number is still too high,” says Mrs Tolley.

Police Minister Anne Tolley says criminals and gangs are being hit hard as a result of having to forfeit the proceeds of their crimes.

322 assets worth an estimated $26 million have been forfeited by convicted criminals since the National-led Government introduced the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act in December 2009.

Around $21 million was taken from drug offenders, with over $15 million of this coming from methamphetamine associated offences.

Police Minister Anne Tolley has today praised frontline officers at the Counties Manukau Police pay parade and awards ceremony.

Officers were awarded certificates of commendation, as well as long service and good conduct medals, following a parade of 180 staff through the streets of Manukau. Members of the public were also recognised for their efforts in helping prevent crime.

“It was great to see our frontline officers marching through the streets of the community which they serve so well,” says Mrs Tolley.

Police Minister Anne Tolley has congratulated Police and OFCANZ for their involvement in an international operation which has kept $7 million of methamphetamine out of the country and off New Zealand’s streets.

Two shipments totalling 6.6 kg of methamphetamine were seized in Canada before they could be transported here, and as part of the operation a number of arrests have been made by New Zealand Police.

In addition, there have been raids on cannabis growing houses in Auckland which recovered over 600 cannabis plants.

Corrections Minister Anne Tolley says a Bill which improves prison safety and security has passed its third reading in Parliament.

The Corrections Amendment Bill improves drug testing and searching procedures in prisons, and makes it an offence to “waterload”, or drink a lot of liquid, to attempt to dilute a drug test.

The Bill also strengthens contraband regulations, to make tobacco and smoking items illegal on prison grounds.

Corrections Minister Anne Tolley has officially opened a Young Offenders Unit at Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison, which will deliver a much more structured approach to dealing with young prisoners.

The under 20 year olds will be required to take part in a daily routine which includes education, vocational training and rehabilitative programmes. 

“We don’t want these teenagers to get used to a life of crime, and to continue creating victims in the years ahead,” says Mrs Tolley.

Corrections Minister Anne Tolley has announced that two thousand prisoners are to be enrolled in an education programme leading to NCEA qualifications over the next two years, as a result of a new partnership between Corrections and the Open Polytechnic.

The partnership will help Corrections reach its Better Public Service target of a reduction in reoffending of 25 per cent, with 18,500 fewer victims of crime, each year by 2017.

Corrections Minister Anne Tolley has announced that GPS monitoring of offenders is to be extended to include prisoners on release-to-work schemes.

Low security prisoners will be electronically tracked while travelling between prisons and their workplace, as well as on the job, and swift action will be taken if they stray into designated exclusion zones.

Police and Corrections Minister Anne Tolley has today officially opened the new Christchurch Central Police station.

Built at a cost of $22 million, the new facility replaces the previous station, which had to be vacated due to earthquake risks.

It will accommodate up to 500 Police staff, who will be sharing the building with 40 Corrections staff.

“I’m delighted that the Police, who have been working in makeshift conditions, now have new, modern and professional surroundings,” says Mrs Tolley.

Police Minister Anne Tolley says the introduction of smartphones and tablets for frontline officers across New Zealand will deliver around 520,000 additional frontline Police hours every year, with more Police work and less paperwork, to further prevent and tackle crime.

6,500 frontline officers will be issued with a smartphone by mid-2014, with 3,900 staff also receiving tablets, so they can access, input and share important information immediately, without having to travel back to their station to access databases or write reports.

Corrections Minister Anne Tolley says a Bill which will enable prisons to operate more effectively has passed its second reading.

The Bill proposes improvements to drug testing and searching procedures, which will lead to enhanced safety and security.

It will also make it an offence for a prisoner to “waterload” prior to a drug test.

“We are using this Bill to make tobacco and smoking items illegal on prison grounds, which will strengthen current regulations,” says Mrs Tolley.

Police Minister Anne Tolley says that frontline foot patrols have risen by 70 per cent in the past year, as Police increase their focus on crime prevention to make our communities safer.

The total number of Police foot patrols increased by 28,855 in 2012, rising from 40,918 in 2011 to 69,773 last year.

“Police are taking a back to the future approach, by having more officers on the beat to tackle and prevent crime,” says Mrs Tolley.

Police Minister Anne Tolley has today attended a ceremony to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the tragic deaths of four Police officers.

Detective Inspector Wallace Chalmers, Detective Sergeant Neville Power, Constable Bryan Schultz and Constable James Richardson were all killed by gunmen within a four-week period in early 1963.

Corrections Minister Anne Tolley has officially opened a new probation centre at Paraparaumu on the Kapiti Coast.

The $1.8 million facility will provide better support for staff and for community offenders trying to steer clear of a return to crime, with a purpose-built Community Work Centre, room for on-site training, and enhanced safety provisions for staff with CCTV and glass interview rooms.

The new probation centre will have 14 staff, who manage 220 offenders in the community, 90 of whom are on community work.

Police Minister Anne Tolley says Labour is once again trying to mislead the public over Police resources.

“Their spokesman has claimed that there are 57 fewer Police Communications Centre staff than in 2009, but this is completely false. There are, in fact, fifty additional staff,” says Mrs Tolley.

“Figures supplied to the Law and Order Select Committee Financial Review clearly show that in 2012 the average number of staff in these centres increased from 508 in 2009 to 558 in 2012.

Corrections Minister Anne Tolley has officially opened a new High Dependency Unit at Rimutaka Prison, the first of its kind in New Zealand.

The new 20-bed unit, which will be operated by Corrections officers and health services staff, will cater for prisoners who can no longer look after themselves and who have high health needs.

It will cater mostly for older men, some of whom have dementia, and for younger prisoners with significant health conditions such as physical disabilities, motor neurone disease or multiple sclerosis.

Minister for Social Development Paula Bennett today met with Auckland Sexual Abuse Helpline (ASAH) and agreed to an interim funding arrangement with contributions from Health, Social Development and Police.

“I met with ASAH today, I’ve heard their concerns and the Government is prepared to step in to keep the service running without interruption,” says Social Development Minister Paula Bennett.

They have also committed to a sustainable three year contract with negotiations to be finalised in April 2013.

Police Minister Anne Tolley says a Bill which clarifies the definition of certain firearms and places controls on the importation of restricted airguns has passed its third reading in Parliament.

The Arms (Military Style Semi-Automatic Firearms and Import Controls) Amendment Bill clarifies the definition of military style semi-automatic firearms (MSSAs), and places controls on the importation of airguns that look like real pistols, MSSAs or restricted weapons. Importers of such airguns will now be required to have a special Police permit.

Corrections Minister Anne Tolley has announced that an expert advisory panel has been formed to help deliver improved safety for prison staff.

The international panel, chaired by Howard Broad, will review the Corrections Department’s new Staff Safety Action Plan and oversee its implementation in 2013.

The panel will recommend additions and any possible improvements to the Action Plan, as well as consulting with staff, interest groups and unions.

Police and Corrections Minister Anne Tolley is travelling to England and Italy from October 31 to November 8 for discussions on organised crime, the UK sex offenders' register, online child pornography and prisoner rehabilitation.