Otago Corrections Facility Manager Jack Harrison handed 'bouquets' last night to Clutha District Mayor Juno Hayes and Enterprise Clutha saying the warm welcome and practical support given to himself and the 200 Corrections staff now working at the Otago Corrections Facility had been outstanding.
Mr Harrison told a large audience attending Enterprise Clutha's first youth development programme graduation ceremony last night that Mr Hayes' enthusiasm and energy, plus his pride in the communities that made up the Clutha District, had convinced him to take the job.
He said the few hours he'd spent with Mr Hayes while weighing up whether or not to move himself and his family from Taupo to Clutha had also lead to what may well be Corrections' most successful recruitment campaign.
"It was easy to sing the praises of Clutha people and it was the Clutha lifestyle and warmth of the people that became the cornerstone of the recruitment campaign," Mr Harrison said.
"We now have close to 100 staff living in the Clutha District having managed to encourage more than 90 people to move here from other prison sites around the country."
Mr Harrison said around 300 of the country's close to 8000 prisoners were from the wider Otago Region and research told Corrections that the best chance these prisoners had of successfully reintegrating into the community was to serve their sentences close to home where they could maintain their positive connections.
"We have a dedicated reintegration team on site and I’m really pleased with the way we've managed to establish positive relationships with government departments and non-government agencies working together in Otago to optimise the reintegration of prisoners.
"Otago's strong inter-agency approach to reintegration and willingness to work with the prison signals maturity."
Mr Harrison thanked Enterprise Clutha for inviting him to speak to graduates of the 'Inspiring Young people for Tomorrow' course which he became aware of through his contact with Enterprise Clutha.
He told the graduates and their families that after he'd failed at school and lost direction, his parents warned him that if he didn't knuckle down and keep out of trouble, he would end up in prison.
Following 13 years with the Ministry of Works and eight working in the health sector he gained a business degree and joined Corrections as Tongariro/Rangipo Prison Manager.
"I would chuckle at Mum and Dad's premonition about me ending up in prison because at that point, not only was I in prison but I was in charge of it."
Mr Harrison said despite the fact Otago Corrections facility boasted modern, new facilities, life was 'not flash' for prisoners.
"We determine when they get up, what they will do, when they will eat and when they go to bed. While they are here we work hard to motivate prisoners to turn their lives around because too many years are wasted in places like ours - years they can’t get back."
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