26 November
Today 28 staff from the Department of Corrections within Canterbury prisons have been recognised with long service awards. The event gave recognition to Prison Services staff, Health Services staff and Corrections Inmate Employment (CIE) staff who have given 14, 21 and 35 years of service.
“Corrections staff play an important role in making our communities safer by ensuring offenders are complying with their sentences and reducing re-offending through rehabilitation. It can often be a demanding role requiring immense dedication, therefore recognising staff long service is so important,” says Prison Services General Manager Harry Hawthorn.
“To have a number of staff who have been with the Department for these number of years is extraordinary and I am delighted to be part of recognising that commitment.
“I was also pleased to be able to acknowledge the remarkable resilience of Canterbury staff over the last two months following the earthquake. This has been an extremely challenging time for people in the Canterbury region, and with all the emotional stress, property damage and numerous aftershocks, the professionalism and dedication of Canterbury staff has been exceptional,” Harry Hawthorn said.
He said having staff stay with the Department for such a long amount of time means invaluable organisational knowledge and experience is retained.
“I thank each and every one of today’s recipients for the work they do and also for the advice and guidance they provide to new staff joining the Department.
“Corrections offers a variety of rewarding careers it is great to see that demonstrated first hand through the staff we are honoring today.”
The awards are issued under authority delegated by Her Majesty the Queen, under Royal Warrant. The New Zealand Prison Service medal is granted for long service to Custodial Staff. In 2005 it was decided to also recognise non-custodial long serving staff with Departmental badges.
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