Recently I was invited to join a National Radio panel discussion on the trends in imprisonment. Hosted by former All Black Chris Laidlaw, other panel members were Victoria University Criminologist John Pratt and former New Zealand Herald editor Gavin Ellis.
With a group like this, it wasn’t surprising that it wasn’t just Corrections that came in for some scrutiny. John Pratt is a strong advocate of improved work training, drug treatment and rehabilitation - all things that we want to do more of. But with a respected senior journalist joining the mix, the discussion soon traversed the impact media and politicians have had on policy formulation.
At Corrections, we are only too familiar with the different ways the media can report us. The recent removal of a visitor to the Staff Training College at Rimutaka is a case in point. Inevitably, some media reported this as a prostitute getting into the prison itself, despite this being completely untrue. In fact, the Staff College is a non-secure area outside the prison which is readily accessible by a variety of people including community groups who go there for training.
Actually, the fact the incident was detected was down to the excellent work of Corrections Officers on a random checkpoint who did not have grounds to prevent this person’s entry to the Staff College but, acting on their suspicions, had her quickly removed when the reasons given for her being there did not add up.
The checkpoint staff can be proud of their work, which is a continuation of the stepped-up emphasis on security which has resulted in a dramatic rise in the contraband detected before it reaches prisons as well as within the walls.
Although this should be good news, it would be naïve to think the media will resist a sensational headline. The fact we are a tempting target was not lost on my fellow panellists who were concerned that the facts were often getting obscured by the headlines in the current penal policy debate.
John Pratt, for instance, labelled a major daily as schizophrenic for its front page attack on our prisoner work gangs in Hawkes Bay while calling for more rehabilitation initiatives in the editorial inside.
Over the coming months, we can expect more instances like these as the debate on how society treats and rehabilitates its offenders intensifies and an increasing range of options is subject to comment in the media.
But when it is recognised that an extra prison is an investment at the cost of a new school or hospital, then alternatives like some offenders being put on community sentences must also get consideration.
This debate is extraordinarily important and it’s in everybody’s interest that it continues.
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