28 May
A prison checkpoint at Hawkes Bay Prison found a significant quantity of cannabis yesterday afternoon. Prison checkpoints are regularly run by every prison around the country to search anyone coming to the prison and their vehicle.
Hawkes Bay Prison staff found the contraband on a visitor who had come to visit a prisoner. The search of the vehicle revealed 25 ‘tinnies’ of cannabis in the visitor’s handbag.
“Our staff thoroughly search visitors to the prison regularly. It is great they found this rubbish before there was any possibility of it entering the prison,” says Hawkes Bay Assistant Prison Manager Yvonne Fuller.
“We seized the, approximately, 50 grams of drugs and detained the visitor until Police arrived to arrest her.
“Not only does she face possible charges she is excluded from our site for at least three months. We have zero tolerance for contraband.
“We must be constantly vigilant for contraband coming onto our site. Often this contraband is destined for a prisoner which can seriously compromise security and puts the safety of the public, staff and prisoners at risk.
“Many prisoners have addictions to drugs or alcohol when they come to prison – preventing contraband from entering prisons is one part of the solution that will curb these addictions.
“The other part is reducing demand for drugs through effective rehabilitation programmes such as the Department’s six Drug Treatment Units (DTU).”
Hawkes Bay Prison runs one of the Department’s very successful DTUs. Prisoners who complete the Drug Treatment Unit programme are 13 per cent less like to reoffend after two years of release than an untreated prisoner.
For further information contact the Communications Services Desk:
Copyright © Department of Corrections | Feedback and queries email: webmaster@corrections.govt.nz