Mark Mitchell: Corrections Minister on the number of people breaching electronically monitored bail

The Corrections Minister says the Government has helped reduce the number of people breaching electronically monitored bail.  

There were 832 cases of absconding from EM bail last year - up from 64 in 2015.  

The total number of people on EM bail has risen from 1300 to over six thousand since 2015.  

But Mark Mitchell told Ryan Bridge the percentage rate of absconding is actually coming down.  

He says it was at 19% in 2019, which dropped to 14% last year. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
If you've seen more people out with the corrections ankle
bracelets on lately, we know why. Ankle monitor escapes have
increased from sixty four in twenty fifteen to more than
eight hundred in the last year. The number of electronic
monitoring is also up through the roof though, from twelve
hundred to six thousand, so there's some context. Mark Mitchell
was the Corrections Minister with us this morning. Minister, good morning, Hey,

(00:22):
good morning, Ryan, you're still back in your Finance minister.
You know your Prime minister. What do you think of
these calls for them to resign?

Speaker 2 (00:30):
No, one hundred percent, i'd bet that. I mean, you know,
this is my second round in government. Is an actual
government and like the first time around we had, we
inherited a group port economy and some real issues in
the economy and it took us a while. We turned
it around and I don't know if you've meant it,
but it used to be called the rock star economy.
This time around we inherited a much bigger problem and

(00:50):
it's going to take a bit of time to turn around.
The Finance Minister is doing the outstanding job and size
the promise.

Speaker 1 (00:56):
Would you call negative point nine outstanding.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
Well, like I said to you, there's some there's definitely
a few head winds there. There's no doubt about that.
There was some good growth before the negative point nine.
And like I just said to you, we last time
I was in government and it was national we had
John t in Bill English, we inherited really big problems
from the labor government. This is this political cycle we
seem to happen. That seems to happen as that labor

(01:22):
comes in, they throw money where nothing gets delivered. They
reach up huge debt for us. I mean we're paying
annually about eight nine billion dollars.

Speaker 1 (01:31):
Ten are right, So just stick to the plan.

Speaker 2 (01:35):
I stick run the police force four times over on the.

Speaker 1 (01:38):
Stick to the plan, stick to the script. All right, minister,
let's talk about this electronic monitoring. So in twenty fifteen
in percentage increase becomes important because there's been an increase
in those who were getting electronic monitoring. Right, So twenty
fifteen it was five percent, twenty twenty five is absconding
is now fourteen percent. So what how did that happen?

Speaker 2 (02:01):
Okay, well, you've got different numbers to me. I've got
eleven percent. But it's actually dropped significantly. They're doing our
creations are quite quite simp we're doing an outstanding job. Yes,
to number of people on electronic bail has increased, you know,
it's getting that towards thirty zerousand. The reason for that

(02:21):
is because we're now wrapping consequences, well we want consequences
to actually that's the serious of the offend. And I've
also we've also had to deal with a massive increase
of people coming into the correction system that's so prioritizing
public safety.

Speaker 1 (02:35):
So I've got here from news talks there be as
a proportion of individuals on electronically monitored bail, the absconding
rate increased from five percent to fourteen percent. Is that wrong?

Speaker 2 (02:46):
It's gone from what five twenty fifteen to eleven percent?
Is at thirty one July twenty twenty five.

Speaker 1 (02:52):
Okay, so eleven percent or fourteen percent, that's gone up.

Speaker 2 (02:56):
Yeah, so yeah, so when it's actually coming down, So
if you look at what they're doing, it's actually starting
to come down. But then it's quite that basically, Ryan,
there has been a big increase in people on electronic bail,
more than we would have liked because what was happening.
Is we more there's people getting electroc bail that we
thought should literally be in prison. So that's why we've

(03:16):
made changes changed to the What.

Speaker 1 (03:19):
Does absconding mean like is that cutting off?

Speaker 2 (03:25):
Basically, what it means is just not complying with the
orders that are in place. So Corrections have got teams
are working twenty four seven that are moorishing that they
were very closely with the police. They informed the police
when someone breaches there electronic bail and the police take
exture on that. And that's why you start to see
our reduction as well as because you know, we are
as the incoming government, We've been very clear that there's

(03:47):
going to be consequences that match, you know, the serious.

Speaker 1 (03:50):
Just how can you say it's coming down when the
rate's gone from five percent to that's eleven or fourteen,
It's going up, isn't it.

Speaker 2 (03:58):
Well, I know because if you look at but if
you look at twenty nineteen, it was a nineteen percent,
twenty twenty seventeen percent, twenty twenty one to sixteen percent,
twenty twenty two, fifteen percent, twenty twenty three, sixteen, twenty
twenty four, fourteen to July twenty five eleven. Gotcha, So
in the last two years it's coming down.

Speaker 1 (04:20):
All right, minister, appreciate your time. Mat Mitchell is the
corrections Minister.

Speaker 2 (04:25):
For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, Listen live
to News Talks it'd be from five am weekdays, or
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