Prison Manager Jeanette Burns says 20 prisoners were transferred to ARWCF from Waikeria Prison’s Nikau Unit for women which will revert to men’s accommodation when it is empty. Nikau was opened to temporarily address the shortage of women’s accommodation in the upper North Island.
“The arrival of the first prisoners is something the staff at ARWCF have spent a long time working towards,” Jeannette says.
“The first group of prisoners have been carefully selected. They are from the area and they are low-risk.”
Prisoners who have been working in the kitchen and laundry at Waikeria were selected first so they can get these facilities operational at Auckland Women’s before the rest of the prisoners arrive.
International best practice recommends a three to six-month gap, following completion of construction and before prisoners arrive, so staff can be recruited and trained on site and equipment and systems tested.
A phased build-up of prisoners has been planned at ARWCF to give time to ensure that it is fit for purpose and it will have its full complement of prisoners by the end of this year.
With ARWCF operational, women prisoners from the upper North Island can be close to their support networks, an important factor in their rehabilitation.
Before ARWCF opened, the only women’s prison in the area was Mt Eden Women’s, a small 54-bed facility holding mostly prisoners remanded in custody awaiting trial.
Because of Mt Eden Women’s small capacity, women prisoners from Auckland and the upper North Island often had to be sent to women’s prisons outside the region that were distant from their families.
Prisoners at women’s prisons in Christchurch and Wellington may be transferred up to ARWCF if they usually live in the Auckland region.
“Some may decide their rehabilitation is best served in their current facility, or because being close to family may trigger their reoffending.
Although they can be closer to home, they may decide it’s best to stay put.” ARWCF is the second of four new corrections facilities to open. The Northland Region Corrections Facility has been operating successfully since March 2005.
The Spring Hill Corrections Facility and the Otago Region Corrections Facility are under construction and due to open in 2007.
Staff at Auckland Region Women’s Corrections Facility
ready to receive prisoners.
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ISSN 1178-8453