Here is a summary of three reports by Victorian Auditor-General, Mr Des Pearson, that were tabled in the Victorian Parliament this morning.
The reports (quick review over the fold) cover youth rehabilitation, progress on the CJEP (Criminal Justice Enhancement Program), and reporting by local governments.
Ultrashort summary of the auditor’s opinions…. "Not happy, Jan"!
- Services to young offenders.
You could summarize the media release as- The agencies try hard
- They cannot demonstrate they make a difference
- Need some decent management, especially to develop a decent set of "scorecards" for outcomes
- A whole-of-government approach, not just the criminal justice system, is needed.
- Implementation of the Criminal Justice Enhancement Program (CJEP)
You could summarize the media release as …- benefits haven’t been systematically measured… lack of accountability
- poor management evidenced by significant scope changes (the original requirements documents were woefully inadequate)
- over time and over budget (from the managers not being able to define what they actually needed - SNAFU)
- Performance Reporting in Local Government
This comes with a companion document (Local Government Performance Reporting: Turning Principles into Practice) that provides guidance on how to do things better (why did the auditor feel the need to go to all the trouble of preparing such a document… hmmmmm?). The media statement says (my bolding)
the councils’ performance statements generally fail key tests of usefulness. They contain information that is largely irrelevant and inappropriate to users’ needs…. difficult for ratepayers and residents to hold their elected representatives fully accountable…. councils have taken a very narrow view of their performance reporting obligations - treating the minimum mandatory legal requirements as the maximum disclosure standard
More recent reports here.
