9 Mar 2018

11 child sex offenders on one street, Corrections confirms

From Morning Report, 7:23 am on 9 March 2018

The Department of Corrections will talk to a school in South Auckland's today about 11 convicted child sex offenders housed nearby.

The offenders are at two different boarding houses on the same street in Ōtāhuhu.

The department's regional commissioner, Jeanette Burns, told Morning Report "most" had been there since 2015, and three had moved from Whangarei in the past week.

She said a colleague met with local principals last year but not the nearby school, which she says is half a kilometre away - beyond their boundary of notification around the properties where the offenders live. 

Ms Burns acknowledged Corrections should have approached the school: "We are responsible for community engagement, we will be going to that school today.

"The reality is that we are placing offenders in the backlog of a significant housing shortage and these lodges are one of the best options that we have in order to keep the community safe."