The positive contribution of a prison to its host community can be counted in several ways. Last month I attended the opening of the Waikato District Council’s waste water treatment plants, worth $10 million and largely funded by Corrections to provide water and wastewater services for the Spring Hill Corrections Facility. The improved infrastructure is already providing increased water capacity to its surrounding Waikato rural areas and will provide drinking water to the prison whose first prisoners arrive in November.
New facilities require new staff. Probation and Corrections officers are required to manage offenders in the community and in prison, creating job opportunities this year for local residents in Waikato and Otago. Spring Hill Corrections Facility will need 340 Corrections officers alone.
During the early construction days of Northland and Spring Hill Corrections Facilities, unemployed locals were trained in construction-related trades such as painting and roofi ng which gave them invaluable skills to find employment in an industry short of skilled workers.
Communities benefit from two-million hours of unpaid labour by community work offenders repaying the community for their offences. They work on projects which benefit the community as a whole; schools, kindergartens, parks, playgrounds, marae and other not-for-profit organisations.
This labour is put to good use in times of disaster. Waitaruki Convent in Kaeo, and Peria School near Kaitaia, suffered badly during extremely heavy rains in Northland late last month. However, Corrections was able to lend a hand through its community work. Offenders continue to clear large amounts of debris left after the flood waters receded.
Rehabilitation of offenders while they are in our care is another example of the way Corrections creates positive outcomes. Through the Release to Work programme, some Northland prisoners are securing full-time jobs thanks to targeted training schemes in building construction, horticulture and forestry.
While no-one wants to see more prisons being built and many people do not want them in their backyards, the positive impact of Corrections should be recognised and maximised.
(left - right) Waikato District Council Mayor Peter Harris, Hon. Damien
O’Connor, Waikato District Council Community Assets Group Manager Richard
Bax, Pat Kingi, Corrections Senior Project Management Adviser Regional Prisons
Programme Colin Munn, Waikato District Council Chief Executive Gavin Ion.
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ISSN 1178-8453