31 August 2006
For the past decade Corrections’ work parties have been helping Palmerston North City Council keep the city’s walk-ways beautiful.
“Planting trees, clearing scrub, general tidying up, track work… you’d be surprised at how Corrections has contributed to setting up or maintaining the city’s 69 kilometres of walkways,” says Corrections Inmate Employment (CIE) Site Operations Manager Julie Gowan.
“It is hard, physical work but the prisoners enjoy it and are developing a work ethic that will be valuable to any employer,” she says.
These types of initiatives are part of Corrections’ new three year employment strategy that aims to provide prisoners with skills that will help them obtain post-release employment says Ms Gowan.
“We are working with industries and organisations to establish mutually beneficial employment opportunities for prisoners. This will ultimately contribute to making communities safer as having a job is an important factor in reducing reoffending.”
CIE’s partnership with the Palmerston North City Council is part of a relationship in which the council uses CIE labour, recognising the importance of employment in the rehabilitation of prisoners.
In the partnership the Council provides the work and all materials and CIE provides the instructor and prisoner labour. Under the watchful eye of Corrections staff the work parties do approximately 11,500 hours of work each year.
“The support we receive from Corrections is worth its weight in gold,” says Palmerston North City Council Parks Project Coordinator Charles Foulds.
“CIE is really responsive and flexible about the work we need doing. Each week they contact us to find out what they can do. If something is urgent, like clearing logs from the river after flooding, Corrections is there within hours,” explains Mr Foulds.
The work party is now improving track access to Platinum Mine. The work has involved building bridges, planting trees, and maintaining paths.
“The leaves on the track are breaking down with all the rain and making it really slippery. We’ve been out there re-surfacing the track with metal so the public can use it safely,” says Ms Gowan.
Prisoners in the work party also have the opportunity to gain qualifications that will help them once they are released she says.
“All eight prisoners in the work party are completing NZQA unit standards in forestry and chainsaw operation, mandatory requirements for a Certificate in Forestry Foundation Skills.
“One of the guys released last month was able to take up a job at a saw mill with the chainsaw qualifications and training he received with us.
“This is the employment strategy in action.”