Mt Eden Prison is a medium security institution that accommodates up to 521 male prisoners.
The Mt Eden Prison building was built in 1856 as a military stockade and became Auckland's major place of confinement when the old city jail was demolished in the same year. The foundations and stone wall surrounding the site were completed in 1872. The building proper was commenced in 1882 and was finished in 1917. The Prison is based on the panopticon prison design and resembles Dartmoor Prison in England. Mount Eden Prison has a 'category one' classification from the New Zealand Historic Places Trust due to its historical significance and architectural quality.
A major project to replace Mt Eden Prison began in late 2008.
Click here to read more about the project
New accommodation blocks and support facilities will be constructed to replace the old prison building. The historic building will be restored and converted for staff and administration use.
Mt Eden employs 243 staff and is part of Prison Services' Northern Region.
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Further information
Security
Reducing re-offending
Motivational programmes
Cognitive-behavioural programmes
Specialist units
Prisoner employment
Education
Reintegration
Working with the community
Security
Protecting the public is the Department's highest priority, and this is accomplished through the secure incarceration of prisoners.
The level of physical security at each prison varies and is dependant on the type of prisoner accommodated.
Mt Eden is a high-medium security prison and has a high level of physical security.
Mt Eden has a single point-of-entry and has a 20-metre high stone perimeter wall topped with razor wire encompassing the inner units.
There is also an exterior wire fence with razor wire that borders the motorway/hillside of the prison.
Everyone entering the prison, including staff, can be searched.
There are two walk through x-ray machines located in the front office/visits area. Staff also have hand held scanners which are used for prisoner and visitor searches.
In addition, electronic security devices and cameras, closed circuit TV, video motion detectors and microwave sensors are used throughout the prison.
Reducing re-offending
Reducing re-offending is critical if the Department is to meet its overriding objective of improving public safety.
Reducing re-offending means fewer offenders commit crime after completing their sentence – resulting in fewer victims, a reduction in the cost of crime and safer communities.
Mt Eden Prison provides prisoners with a range of rehabilitation programmes and interventions that are designed to address the primary causes of their offending and prepare them for release.
The most intensive interventions are targeted at prisoners who are assessed as being a high risk of re-offending, that have severe needs that caused their offending and are motivated to make constructive changes in their lives.
Every prisoner entering Mt Eden Prison receives a sentence plan which they are required to comply with.
The focus of the sentence plan is on reducing re-offending on release and is developed following an assessment of a prisoner's risk, needs and motivation.
This ensures they are placed on the most appropriate and timely programmes and interventions to address the underlying causes of their offending.
Rehabilitation programmes and interventions provided at Mt Eden Prison fall into four main categories: motivational, cognitive-behavioural, employment and education, and reintegrative.
Motivational programmes
Motivational programmes are designed to increase motivation and to encourage and prepare prisoners to confront the causes of their offending.
There are two primary motivational programmes used at Mt Eden Prison: the Tikanga Maori Programme and the Short Motivational Programme.
Tikanga Maori programmes use Maori philosophy, values, knowledge and practice to help prisoners increase their understanding of their Maori identity and their values, and improve their self-esteem to help them become motivated to address the causes of their offending.
The Short Motivational Programme aims to increase motivation by increasing a prisoner's problem awareness and recognition, reducing ambivalence, addressing cognitive distortions, and helping them consider options and formulate goals.
Cognitive-behavioural programmes
Cognitive-behavioural programmes aim to reduce re-offending by helping prisoners address the causes of their offending and teaching them to identify, analyse and solve problems and make decisions to better their lives.
Prisoners also learn how to understand the consequences of their actions and gain control over their own behaviour.
Mt Eden Prison delivers the Short Rehabilitation Programme to prisoners.
The Short Rehabilitation Programme is a brief cognitive-behavioural programme aimed at a smaller number of prisoners who require rehabilitation but do not have enough time in their sentence to complete a longer programme.
The Short Rehabilitation Programme targets a range of prisoners and is designed to cover the common elements of all offending.
Mt Eden Prison also runs a series of ‘on demand' short courses, such as anger management, dealing with alcohol and drugs, and preventing violence in homes.
Specialist units
Mt Eden Prison operates a specialist Reintegration Unit for male prisoners serving the final 12 months of their sentence and who would benefit from specialist support before they return to the community.
Prisoners held in the unit are assisted to find accommodation and employment, as well as practical life skills such as managing debt.
Prisoner employment
Prisoner employment, managed by Corrections Inmate Employment (CIE), plays an integral part in rehabilitation because it provides prisoners with essential work skills and habits.
The last prison census in 2003 found more than half of prisoners were not in paid employment prior to sentencing.
Prisoner employment increases the chance a prisoner will find sustainable work on release and research shows this will result in less prisoners being reconvicted.
Mt Eden Prison offers two main types of employment:
• internal self-sufficiency activities such as food preparation and laundry
• commercial work parties.
Prisoners are able to earn credits under the National Qualification Framework, allowing them to work towards qualifications whilst they are engaged in employment and training.
Minimum security prisoners who are nearing release may also be eligible to participate in Release to Work.
Release to Work is a form of temporary release that allows prisoners to be in paid work in the community during the day.
It provides prisoners with a stable work record and the job is often carried on after a prisoner's release.
Education
There is a strong relationship between a lack of education and criminal behaviour.
At the time of the last prison census in 2003, 51.7 per cent of all prisoners had no formal qualifications.
Educational achievement and participation can equip prisoners for self-sufficiency and reduce the barriers to living an offence-free life.
A prisoner can enrol in any subject or education programme they consider themselves capable of achieving.
There are five main types of education offered to prisoners at Mt Eden Prison:
In addition, computer and hobby classes are also available.
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Reintegration
Reintegration programmes aim to address problems likely to increase a prisoners' risk of re-offending on release.
Being imprisoned can have significant social consequences for a prisoner.
They are likely to have lost their job and accommodation, they are unlikely to be able to support their families and their relationships can be adversely affected in other ways.
Combined, this can lead offenders into a cycle of institutionalisation.
Mt Eden Prison provides two reintegrative programmes:
• Living Skills, which is a broad-based programme to give prisoners skills and knowledge on how to function effectively in society on their release
• Parenting Skills, which is a group programme designed to teach parenting and relationship skills.
Both of these courses are run through the Mt Eden Prison Reintegration Unit.
Reintegration case-workers also work with high-need prisoners at Mt Eden Prison to address their specific reintegrative needs and help them prepare for release in the community.
The Ministry of Social Development have Work and Income work brokers and case managers permanently based at Mt Eden to help prisoners nearing release to find suitable work before they are released.
Prisoners who find sustainable employment on release are less likely to re-offend.
Working with the community
The community has an important role to play in the rehabilitation and transition of prisoners back into the community by supporting and encouraging prisoners to live an offence free life.
Many sectors of the community are involved in rehabilitating offenders and helping them move back into the community.
Mt Eden Prison has close ties to the local community, and has a strong relationship with members from the local Kaitiaki, Kaiwhakamana and Fautua Pasifika groups.
The Regional Advisor for Pacific (RAP) Northern Region is based at Mt Eden, and encourages strong ties with prisoners and the Pacific community.
Mt Eden Prison also works with a number of support agencies, including New Zealand Prisoner's Aid and Rehabilitation Society (NZPARS), Prison Fellowship and the Salvation Army to support the successful reintegration of prisoners back into the community.
A large number of people also regularly donate their time, energy and expertise as volunteers with Mt Eden Prison.
Volunteers provide invaluable support for prisoners and their families and give prisoners the opportunity to spend their free time constructively through music, art or sport.