A plan to house 10 child sex offenders in a building near multiple Auckland schools and daycares has been dropped after a strong community outcry. The transitional house was set to be leased in Alfriston, Takanini, about 1.5km from one of the local primary schools. Photo / NZME
A plan to house 10 child sex offenders in a building near multiple Auckland schools and daycares has been dropped after a strong community outcry. The transitional house was set to be leased in Alfriston, Takanini, about 1.5km from one of the local primary schools. Photo / NZME
A plan to house 10 child sex offenders 1.5km from a primary school has been withdrawn
Corrections confirmed this week they had scrapped the proposal following “feedback” from the community
Alfriston School and local officials strongly opposed the move and were “extremely pleased” at the outcome
A plan to house 10 child sex offenders in a building near multiple Auckland schools and daycares has been dropped after a strong community outcry.
Despite allegedly originally telling those opposed to the plan that it was not up for consultation, Corrections has scrapped the proposal just weeksout after receiving “feedback”.
The transitional house was set to be leased in the suburb of Alfriston, Takanini, about 1.5km from one of the local primary schools.
“We all just couldn’t believe that this was even a consideration to have criminals like that within a 10-15 minute walk of a school,” said one mum, who wanted to remain anonymous.
A house was to be set up for recently released child sex offenders. Photo / 123rf
“It’s just horrible for the wider community as well as us.”
She said they received an email from Alfriston School a couple of weeks ago informing them Corrections planned to lease a house for ex-prisoners. They did not know what type of prisoners, where the house would be, or when it would be happening.
The school sent out another newsletter this week with an update, telling parents Corrections had said the men in the house would be 10 child sex offenders, and the house would be in use from January.
“The Department of Corrections didn’t even give the school an option to fight back,” the mum claimed. “They literally told the school and said, ‘This is happening.’”
The newsletter, which the Herald has seen, said the school strongly opposed the plan and noted Corrections representatives had declined to attend a community meeting about it.
“At our initial meeting, the Department of Corrections stated this was a meeting to inform, not a consultation,” the newsletter said.
It listed actions the school had taken since being informed of the transitional house proposal, including undertaking a school safety review, contacting local politicians and meeting with nearby early childcare centres.
The school also emailed Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell, requested the facility’s safety plan from Corrections and sought a quote for additional security cameras.
The transitional house was planned to be set up about 1.5km from Alfriston School in Takanini. Photo / Google Maps
It was also reviewing pick-up and drop-off procedures, among other things.
Manurewa-Papakura ward councillor Daniel Newman and MP Rima Nakhle were also staunchly opposed and were involved in advocating for the schools and daycares.
Corrections confirmed to the Herald the proposal had been withdrawn.
“We recently proposed setting up a supported accommodation house at an address in Takanini. As part of this, we and the provider who would be running this service have been engaging with the community about this proposal.
“Our staff have also met with the Ministry of Education to provide further information about the proposal,” said Corrections’ acting deputy chief executive of communities, partnerships and pathways, Lynette Cave.
“We appreciate the time people have taken to provide us with feedback on this proposal, and their feedback has been valuable. After careful consideration, involving a number of factors including community feedback, we have decided to not go ahead with this proposal.”
Local councillor Daniel Newman opposed the plan. Photo / Michael Craig
Cave said public safety was the department’s top priority, and acknowledged the location of offenders can be a concern for communities.
“We work hard to balance this concern with our obligation to safely manage people in the community when they can no longer lawfully be detained in prison. The reality is that without supported accommodation, people could be homeless and living on the streets or in cars. This would present an unacceptable safety risk to communities,” she said.
Supported reintegration helped reduce the risk of reoffending. About 15,000 people are released from prison each year.
“Corrections does not decide who is in the community, and who is in prison. These decisions are made by a judge in court. Corrections supports finding suitable accommodation for offenders who can no longer be lawfully detained in prison.”
This was one of its most “significant challenges”, and the safety of the community was paramount in any decision, she said.
Corrections provided transitional housing for up to 1300 people each year, and staff carried out “an extensive and robust process to assess the suitability of every address proposed to accommodate a person in our management with high-level offending”, she said.
“No offender is allowed to stay at an address if it is considered that the risk could not be safely managed, and public safety upheld.”
The Herald has asked Corrections about the claim the community were initially told they were not being consulted.
Rima Nakhle, National MP for Takanini, was also against the plan. File photo / Hagen Hopkins
“Community engagement is a critical part of setting up any new Corrections residential service, and we do not make any final decisions until we have engaged with the community and considered feedback,” they said in a statement.
“Feedback was part of the reason we decided not to proceed with this location.”
Alfriston School principal Carla Cook said they were “extremely pleased with the outcome”.
“We remain committed to working in the best interest of our school community. We thank MP Rima Nakhle, councillor Daniel Newman and those in our school community who supported us as we navigated this difficult situation.”
Newman said he was relieved for the school but mindful the challenge of successfully rehabilitating offenders remained.
“I accept that in the future there will be a need for more properties to house people who are being released from prison,” he said.
“Frankly I would like my community to be removed as a postcode of choice, we already do more than enough with two prisons, a youth justice facility, and multiple halfway homes to accommodate transitional housing.”
Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime, justice and news in the capital. She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.
