The Human Rights Commission's annual report on Monitoring Places of Detention in the 2017/18 year has been tabled in Parliament.

The report summarises the monitoring carried out by New Zealand’s four National Preventative Mechanisms:  The Independent Police Conduct Authority, the Office of the Children’s Commissioner, the Office of the Ombudsman, and the Inspector of Service Penal Establishments.

The places they inspect include prisons, police cells, military detention, refugee resettlement facilities, compulsory care facilities, Oranga Tamariki care and protection facilities, and youth justice residences.

The 2017/18 report identifies the need for continued focus on the over-representation of Māori, the use of detention facilities for those awaiting assessment by mental health professionals, and the detention of children and young people in facilities that are not designed to meet their needs.

The Human Rights Commission is the Central Preventive Mechanism responsible for coordinating the activities of the National Preventative Mechanisms. The Commission says that while in previous years, the report has simply been tabled before Parliament, this year, the NPMs have asked that it also go before a select committee for further discussion.