The fact the prisoners have occasional barbecues regularly grabs headlines in the media.
However, rewarding positive prisoner behaviour in this way is something that has been custom and practice for many decades, says Public Prisons Service Assistant General Manager Operations Bryan McMurray.
“As part of the active management of prisoners, prison managers can elect to hold a barbeque for offenders - and this will happen no more than three or four times a year in each unit.”
Barbecues are only given to prisoners with a low security classification.
“Such events create incentives for prisoners to behave in a more pro-social way and are used as a reward for good behaviour,” Bryan says.
“Barbeques also provide a more normalised environment for family days - when a prisoner’s family and whanu are invited inside the wire so a prisoner can maintain their links to the wider community,” he adds.
Food cooked on the barbecue is either the standard food that would usually be served at meal times, or is food purchased by the prisoners or the Prisoner Welfare Fund. Prisoners are also generally involved with the organisation of the event which also increases their social skills.
However, Bryan is quick to dispell the notion that all prisoners are tucking into steak on a regular basis.
“While there has been the odd occasion when steak has been on the menu, in the vast majority of cases, the food cooked on prison barbeques would be more accurately described as a sausage sizzle,” he says.
Sausage sizzle - food cooked on barbeques in prisons is
usually the standard food that would be served at mealtimes.
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