CAT/OP/NZL/1/Add.1 noted by the Subcommittee, all efforts are made to reduce the time spent by prisoners in a police cell to a minimum. 31. Corrections and Ministry of Justice are currently working on a project to introduce Audio Visual Linking (AVL). This will mean that prisoners will not always need to make a physical appearance in the Court room. This initiative may reduce prisoner movements nationally by up to 70% and a corresponding reduction in the use of police jails as holding facilities when detainees are on remand, or who are required to travel significant distances for court appearances. 32. Gazetted jails generally form part of major stations, which are prioritised within the Police property replacement programme. The Police intend to replace four of the custodial facilities visited by the Subcommittee (Hastings, Porirua, Auckland Central and Nelson) within the next four or five years. Decisions to replace or refurbish custodial facilities are made based on the condition of the whole property. 33. In addition to the properties mentioned above, Police expect to replace or refurbish Hamilton, Napier, Whanganui, and Whakatāne stations when funding is available. Police will assess the gazetted jail portfolio and examine any facilities unlikely to be renovated in the next few years. Consideration will be given as to the best way to address any identified shortcomings. It is anticipated that capital expenditure over the past ten years combined with the above proposed expenditure, will result in the majority of stations gazetted as jails having upgraded detention facilities. New refurbishment plans take into account the need to segregate detainees. Pretrial detention 34. The Subcommittee recommended New Zealand ensures pretrial detention is used as the last resort and pretrial detention is not excessively prolonged. The starting point of New Zealand law is that the defendant should be released on reasonable conditions unless there is just cause to remand him or her in custody. The factors that the court must consider in deciding whether there is just cause to detain the defendant are set out in section 8 of the Bail Act 2000 and mirror the issues identified by the Subcommittee. There have been significant changes to criminal procedure in recent years as a result of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 which have simplified and streamlined court processes to reduce the time needed for a case to be completed. These changes will help ensure that pretrial detention is not excessively prolonged. Imprisonment rate 35. The Subcommittee recommended that New Zealand investigate the reasons for the high incarceration rates; explore the possibility of expanding the use of non-custodial measures, and place greater emphasis on reintegration programmes. 36. New Zealand’s imprisonment rate has been the focus of multiple government projects over the last ten years. The imprisonment rate by population in New Zealand is linked to relatively high crime resolution rates and prosecutions. The imprisonment rate in proportion of convicted offenders imprisoned (approximately 8%) is not unusual by international standards. New Zealand also has one of the highest rates of non-custodial sentencing of any country in the developed world. 37. An important outcome of the projects was the introduction of several new community sentences, which were made available to judges as sentencing options in October 2007. Combined with recent changes to policing practice through Policing Excellence, the expansion of offender rehabilitation services and an increase in reintegrative services in the community, there has been a significant decline in the number of 8