12. Question No. 12—CorrectionsHon DAVID BENNETT (National—Hamilton East) to the Minister of CorrectionsQuestion No. 12—Corrections12. Hon DAVID BENNETT (National—Hamilton East) to the Minister of Corrections: What is the current prison population and how does that compare to July 2017?Hon STUART NASH (Minister of Police) on behalf of the Minister of Corrections: The current prison population is 10034. In July 2017 it was 10335 and that number continued to increase steadily peaking in March 2018 at 10820. This Government has safely reduced the prison population and will continue to work—SPEAKER: Order! The Minister has answered the question.Hon David Bennett: Can he confirm that under his watch there has been over a 100 percent increase in the electronically monitored bail approvals from 614 approvals in the first six months of 2017 to 1235 in 2019 resulting in a lower than forecasted prison population?Hon STUART NASH: I can't confirm those figures off the top of my head but what I can say is we're looking for innovative solutions to make sure that prisoners are rehabilitated.Hon David Bennett: Can he confirm that under his watch there has been an increase in 474 prisoners on home detention in the last year due to the High Impact Innovation Project (HIIP) resulting in a lower than forecasted prison population?Hon STUART NASH: Again I can't confirm those questions but also I would never criticise the judiciary for the sentences that they hand out. Hon David Bennett: How can the Minister guarantee public safety when 30 percent of home detention approvals and 36 percent of electronically monitored approvals under the HIIP scheme result in reimprisonment within a year of release when the average is 6.6 percent for normal home detention?Hon STUART NASH: Increasing the police force by 1800—I think that's a great start towards helping community safety.Hon David Bennett: Is it correct that there is a reduced prison population due to a lower than expected 1 percent increase in prosecutions for category 3 offences despite a forecast increase of 4.5 percent as a result of what the Ministry of Justice called a system response to the current Government signalling that significant reform of the criminal justice system is a key priority for them."?Hon STUART NASH: I will reiterate: I'm not going to criticise the judiciary and the sentences they hand out.SPEAKER: Order! That I don't think even addressed the question. Will the member read the question again?Hon David Bennett: Is it correct that there is a reduced prison population due to a lower than expected 1 percent increase in prosecutions for category 3 offences despite a forecast increase of 4.5 percent as a result of what the Ministry of Justice called a "system response to the current Government signalling that significant reform of the criminal justice system is a key priority for them."?SPEAKER: The Minister will answer the question which doesn't relate to judicial decisions.Hon STUART NASH: The prison system the judicial system and the justice system do need reform. It's why the Minister of Justice the Minister of Police and the Minister of Corrections are working very closely to reform the system in a way that meets the 21st century expectations of New Zealanders.Hon David Bennett: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I'd just like to thank you for your help earlier to get the Minister to answer the first part of the question which I think you clarified for him. Is it correct that there has been a reduced prison population because of—SPEAKER: No no. I think when a member does a supplementary question with more than one leg he has no right to have more than one answered—and actually it was answered this time as opposed to ignored. Hon Chris Hipkins: Does the Minister agree with the statement that the rate of incarceration in New Zealand prisons is a moral and fiscal failure as asserted by the Rt Hon Bill English?Hon STUART NASH: I do and it was such a shame to see that the former Prime Minister didn't act on that and reduce the prison population in a way that this Government is."