At Corrections, we are no strangers to some of the sadder situations life has to offer - that’s the nature of our business - but I know few of us have been untouched by the tragic events of the last few weeks.
The death of Liam Ashley dismayed us all and while there will be a variety of investigations in coming weeks to determine the cause, the events are not something any of us should be in the least accepting of.
We offer Liam’s family our deepest sympathy and condolences and we will be working with everyone with a role in handling prisoners to identify how we can best prevent a recurrence.
If Liam’s death left us in little doubt that the prison environment can be challenging, the message was strongly reinforced when one of our officers was seized and held hostage for three hours a fortnight later.
Inevitably, our thoughts are with the officer who will carry the memory of these events for the rest of her life. We will be doing all that we can to support her as she works towards her recovery.
Often we are working with people who have a limited sense of social responsibility and they may be people who have been failed from birth by family neglect and the difficulties that brings on in relating to society at large.
Around a third of prisoners are sent to prison because they are violent and we know that a very high proportion of violent offenders have been exposed to violence at a very young age. In fact, many of them have come to regard violence as normal because that’s been the key tool for resolving issues in their family situations.
Criminal behaviour is a culmination and by-product of many factors. We at Corrections are at the end of a chain of events, and dealing with criminals sometimes requires very fine judgement calls. Contrary to the beliefs of some, there are no pat solutions. We can manage the risk, but we cannot eliminate it.
Got a story for Corrections News or want to request the print edition?
Email commdesk@corrections.govt.nz or phone (04) 460 3365.
ISSN 1178-8453