It has been an interesting and eventful period in Corrections since my last message.

We have seen a further growth in ‘approved’ prison volunteer numbers of about nine per cent, giving us a capacity of just over 3,000 including Kaiwhakamana and Fautua Pasefika. I welcome this growth in capacity to meet with the continuing rise in musters. I would like to pay tribute to the marvellous dedication of the many individuals and teams of volunteers, who seek to support, guide, and achieve better outcomes for our prisoners.

Over 120 new volunteers have come on board at our new facility in Otago, thanks to some excellent team working between Prison Services staff, the Chaplaincy, volunteer groups such as Prison Fellowship, Alcoholics Anonymous and others.

Meanwhile, the first prisoners have started to arrive at Spring Hill - a facility that, in common with other recent new facilities, has been purpose built to meet prisoner rehabilitative needs. At the time of writing, the first new volunteers are going through the approval process there.

At the same time, we have continued to experience difficulties at some sites with the high number of custodial staff vacancies we are carrying. This is reflective of the very competitive labour market and the record levels of employment. This has had an impact on our staff, with high overtime levels and restrictions on taking well-deserved annual leave.

To deal with this issue and offer some solutions, I have introduced a series of short term measures. This includes an 8-5 unlock regime at Wellington prisons (excluding self-care units and Unit 4 at Rimutaka). A similar regime will continue in most units at Waikeria.

As usual, some further units will adopt an 8-5 unlock regime over the Christmas period, when programmes and volunteering activity are traditionally lighter. This will allow some staff to take leave over the holiday season.

I realise this may have an impact on the work you do, however we will be working hard to minimise this impact and thank you for your patience and understanding during this time.

On a different matter, I am pleased to report further progress in implementing technology that will block cell phone coverage at all prison sites. Cell phones, of course, have been known to be used by prisoners in planning escapes and organising crime. While the Department has strict procedures for searching prisoners and visitors and has enhanced perimeter security at a number of sites, preventing unauthorised use of cell phones by prisoners is an ongoing challenge.

I would like to remind you that cell phones are not permitted on prison sites. Please assist us in our continuing efforts to reduce crime in prisons by leaving your cell phone at home or, alternatively, leaving it in your vehicle outside of the prison site.

As we head towards the close of the year, may I take this opportunity to thank you all again for your dedication and hard work during this year and wish you and your loved ones a happy and peaceful Christmas.

Harry Hawthorn
General Manager - Prison Services

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