Overview Under the Crimes of Torture Act 1989 (COTA), the Ombudsman is a designated National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) for the OPCAT in New Zealand, with responsibility for monitoring and making recommendations to improve the conditions and treatment of detainees, and to prevent torture, and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, in: • 18 prisons • 80 health and disability places of detention • three immigration detention facilities15 • four child care and protection residences, and • five youth justice residences. The designation in respect of child care and protection and youth justice residences is jointly shared with the Children’s Commissioner. Work is underway with the Ministry of Justice to review the current NPM designations. We are funded for three Inspectors and specialist advisors to assist us in carrying out our NPM functions. In 2016/17 we committed to carrying out 32 visits to places of detention. We exceeded this commitment and carried out a total of 57 visits,16 including 13 formal inspections. Thirty-six visits (63 percent) were unannounced. For the 2017/18 year onwards we were successful in obtaining new funding from Parliament which will enable us to increase the number of Inspectors on our OPCAT team and expand and intensify our programme of inspections. As part of this more intensive programme, we are committed to progressively publishing our reports, in the interests of transparency and accountability. Each place of detention we visit contains a wide variety of people, often with complex and competing needs. Some detainees are difficult to deal with and can be demanding and vulnerable, whereas others are more engaging and constructive. All have to be managed within a framework that is consistent and fair to all. While we appreciate the complexity of running such facilities and caring for detainees, our role is to monitor whether appropriate standards are maintained in the facilities and people detained in them are treated in a way that avoids the possibility of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment occurring. In line with our power to make recommendations with the aim of improving the treatment and the conditions of people deprived of their liberty, we also review and comment on proposed policy changes and legislative reforms. The 13 formal inspections were at the sites set out in the table below. Table 1 Name of facility Type of facility Recommendations made Report published Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison Men’s Prison 37 Yes Ward 35 (Middlemore Hospital) Elderly/dementia 6 No Spring Hill Corrections Facility Men’s Prison 33 Yes Te Whetu Tawera Inpatient Unit (follow-up visit) Adult Mental Health – No Pohutukawa (Mason Clinic) Forensic 2 No Waitemata DHB Intellectual Disability New Plymouth Remand Centre (Whanganui) General Prison 2 No Counties Manukau DHB Auckland DHB Monitoring Places of Detention 13