1 August, 2003
Innocent people will go to prison as a result of a nationwide recruitment campaign being launched today.
At least, that's what the Public Prisons Service intends. Its new recruitment campaign asks people to "consider a career in crime", by showcasing the experience of actual prison staff, in their own words.
Mark Fletcher, Corrections Officer, Hawke's Bay Prison; Gordon Ngatai, Unit Manager, New Plymouth Prison; Neil Campbell, Regional Adviser Maori Service Development, Mt Eden Prison; and Adelice Martin, Principal Corrections Officer, Tongariro/Rangipo Prison, feature in the advertising material and accompanying information booklet Have You Considered a Career in Crime?
The campaign, developed by advertising agency Grey Worldwide, is intended to be thought-provoking, with a human and candid approach. It also seeks to challenge prison stereotypes.
"People's perceptions about prison life are often coloured by movies and TV dramas that bear little or no resemblance to how New Zealand prisons actually operate. Those images can be off-putting to potential applicants," says Phil McCarthy, General Manager, Public Prisons Service.
"Our staff are best placed to tell the 'real story', so we focused on them to illustrate Corrections as a career choice, and also tackle some of the myths and misconceptions about prisons," he adds.
The role of Corrections Officer has been poorly served by negative, outdated terms for the role such as 'guards', 'wardens' and 'screws', he says.
"These terms don't do justice to a role that is varied, interesting and challenging. Every day Mark, Gordon, Neil, Adelice - and thousands of other Public Prisons Service staff like them - make a difference in the lives of inmates while they're in prison and once they're released."
Being a Corrections Officer involves actively managing inmates to help them turn their lives around. Each officer has a role as a case manager, overseeing the progress of several inmates against goals set for them that address their offending.
Life experience and leadership skills are valued qualities in prospective Corrections Officers. The role has a clear career path that can lead to prison management roles, and into related work such as sentence planning or facilitating rehabilitative programmes.
The Public Prisons Service is recruiting now - particularly for staff in the greater Wellington region, where 85 new staff are urgently needed due to the opening of new facilities at Rimutaka Prison. Later this year the campaign will focus on recruiting staff for the new Northland Regional Corrections Facility, which is currently under construction.
For the information pack Have You Considered a Career in Crime? phone 0800 701 701.