Bryan Christy has been Auckland Prison Manager for ten years, and with Corrections for over 35 years. Bryan left Corrections at the end of June, for pastures new in the Bay of Plenty, but Corrections News caught up with him before his last day.
When you first signed up, did you think you’d be with the prison service for 35 years?
No! Initially I could not see myself managing prisoners. was prepared to stay for five years – but there are things that keep you, especially the staff. It’s been a really neat journey and have met some fantastic people and been involved in some great deployments.
What are some of the best things about the prison service?
We do extremely well on the whole. We just need to maintain our focus and keep on improving on what we do.
For example, sentence planning is a great thing – focusing prisoners onto programmes and giving them the opportunity to take responsibility for themselves so they don’t come back to prison.
Prison guards used to be referred to as turn-keys, but Corrections officers are classy beasts now! They’re motivators, parents, disciplinarians, psychologists and social workers all rolled into one – although they often don’t get the credit for all these things – or the pay packet!
What changes have you seen over the 35 years?
We have more prisoners working now than during the period of 1970 - 1990. That’s a really positive change. Schemes like Release to Work are an excellent tool and provide prisoners with opportunities and the responsibility to move away from crime.
We now have computer kiosks in prisons for prisoners to access information regarding prison policies and procedures. They’re a great tool because prisoners are not tying up staff seeking information.
Offenders are getting a little more violent. This has been bought about by the drug trade and the gang confrontations on the outside spilling over into the prisons. Staff used to be able to talk prisoners down, but with the serious drugs being introduced, prisoners have scant regard for consequences. have concerns that staff get caught up in these gang confrontations.
What’s been the hardest thing?
There are incidents that are sad and have a dark side which have lasting effects – these are suicides. Despite our stringent monitoring processes, we’re never going to stop a person who is really determined to die. I guess Corrections has always been the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff and measures need to be explored to find out why so many people with mental health issues are placed in our prisons.
All the news in the papers about Corrections officers and contraband has been such a shame because it’s only a handful that tarnish the Department’s reputation. The great majority of staff do a wonderful job and firmly believe they can make that difference.
What do you think would help stem our rising prisoner numbers?
Everyone has views on prisons, but my view is that if you really want to help people be crime-free you’ve got to start much sooner than prison. I’ve visited schools and can see the ones who are possible candidates to come to prison. Monitors in primary schools would be a good start.
What hopes do you have for the future of Corrections?
We’re already focusing on excellent processes like sentence management, structured days, employment for prisoners which is aligned to NZQA, Release to Work and sporting activities. Some may think we’re offering too much to the prisoners, but we have to offer opportunities prisoners can grasp hold of.
We also have our crime prevention teams focusing on prison intel. This is a big plus for our staff at the coal-face.
Of late we have seen our Department sitting between two-thirds of the nation wishing for harsher penalties for serious offenders, while the other third are critical at the harshness of our prisons. We are always the meat in the sandwich. My advice is, let Corrections get on with the job they know best and forget the trivial criticism.
I’ve always considered staff to be my greatest asset. We’ve got a lot of good hard-working staff and believe they will make that difference.
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