The Rimutaka Improvement Project established in October 2006 to improve performance at Rimutaka Prison has successfully addressed a number of issues identified at the site.

Assistant Regional Manager Liz Nielsen says as one of New Zealand’s fastest growing prisons, Rimutaka Prison experienced difficulties that were unique to the prison and the result of its sudden growth.

"Between July 2002 and January 2007, prison numbers at Rimutaka increased by 77 per cent and staff numbers by more than 80 per cent," says Liz.

"While this was necessary to accommodate an increasing prison population, the rapid increase in staff numbers resulted in a skills and experience gap on the site, with 40 per cent of staff having less than two years custodial experience.

"This skills and experience gap was highlighted during an examination of incidents at the prison, which showed a higher use of force, control and restraint incidents than at similar prisons.

"When we looked at the incidents we found that while staff were working hard to do their job well, they did not have the experience and skills to manage and de-escalate conflict quickly and effectively. In addition, a culture had developed where force was being used too readily rather than as a last resort."

The Rimutaka Improvement Project was established to provide additional support and training to both staff and managers. This included:

• Developing courses in leadership, conflict management and interpersonal skills to help improve staff interaction with prisoners
• an improved induction process for new staff
• operational coaches put into place to support, advise and coach staff for six months
• experienced corrections officers and managers sharing their experiences and offering support and mentoring to Rimutaka Prison staff
• Opportunities for Rimutaka Prison staff and managers to spend time working on the floor and learning from their colleagues.

To complement these initiatives, the project team also worked to improve communication on the site and reinforce the Department's expectation that physical force is only used as a last resort, when all other options have been exhausted.

Liz says she's pleased with the progress made - especially the 58 per cent reduction in use of physical force that has been seen since the project began.

While the project has now transitioned to business as usual, a lot of the work is continuing to cement the positive improvements that have occurred at the prison over the past year.

"The issues at Rimutaka Prison will take some time to resolve but we are determined that all staff have the training and support they need to make Rimutaka a high-performing prison," says Liz.

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ISSN 1178-8453

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