26 August
A keen interest in criminology, rather than criminal offending, has led Wellington East Girl’s College student Georgia Kalantzis straight to jail.
The year 12 student has spent one day a week for the last six weeks undertaking work placement at Corrections national office in Wellington thanks to work experience programme Gateway.
“I moved to New Zealand, from Australia, with my family at the beginning of the year. School here was very different from on the Gold Coast, and I started thinking about my future education,” says Georgia.
The Gateway programme is a school-run work experience programme for Year 11–13 students. Georgia was partnered with the Operational Intelligence group in Corrections, who focus on identifying, investigating and preventing criminal activities undertaken by prisoners. She spent time mapping crime ‘hot-spots’ in prison, learning about the prisoner telephone monitoring system, looking at the effects of smoking bans in prisons internationally and also completed a tour of Arohata Women’s Prison in Tawa.
“I was excited, but nervous, before going into the prison. My mum was a bit worried about the visit, but my parents are proud of what I am achieving at school and knew I would be safe,” said Georgia.
“The prison isn’t anything like what you see on TV. All the prisoners we met were friendly. They all seemed busy – working in the kitchen and commercial laundry or completing rehabilitation or education programmes. One woman we met even had extramural study material in her cell and had nearly finished her small business course.”
“The staff at the prison were keen to explain how the women were managed. It was pretty sad seeing some of the girls who are only a little bit older then me. I wondered what they were in jail for, and what kind of experiences they must have had in their lives.”
Last Friday, on her final day with Corrections, Georgia visited the Wellington Central Police Station and observes a trial underway in the District Court to give her a wider view of the justice sector. This week it’s back to school and a presentation to her class on what she has learnt.
“Some of the girls at school couldn’t understand why I was interested in criminology. The time I spent at Corrections has cemented my interest and I’m looking forward to finishing school and studying at university.
Corrections Assistant National Intelligence Manager John Munro says helping young people who are interested in a career in the justice sector has benefits for Corrections as well as the student.
“Seeing the reality of the work that we do in Corrections can be an eye-opener for young people. I’m really glad that Georgia’s time with us has been useful. We look forward to hearing from Georgia when she’s finished her studies, she’s certainly proved she has the drive and intelligence we look for when recruiting new staff.”
For further information contact the Communications Services Desk:
Copyright © Department of Corrections | Feedback and queries email: webmaster@corrections.govt.nz