A 05.01.R2 Restrictions on Opening, Reading, Withholding and Copying Mail (National Requirement)

Opening and Examining Mail

• Other than mail from an Official Agency, Member of Parliament or a Legal Adviser accompanied by a covering letter (unless it appears to contain an unauthorised item), mail to or from a prisoner may be opened and examined for unauthorised items. (Refer to A.05.01.R1 for provisions relating to opening and examining mail between a prisoner and his or her legal adviser, Member of Parliament and between a prisoner and an Official Agency).
• Any mail to or from a prisoner that is to be opened or examined must be opened or examined by an officer authorised by the Prison Manager to deal with prisoner's mail in the presence of one other authorised officer.

Reading Correspondence

1. Other than mail from an Official Agency, Member of Parliament, or a Legal Adviser accompanied by a covering letter unless it appears to contain an unauthorised item and subject to s110(4), an authorised officer (including a Prison Manager) may read correspondence between a prisoner and another person for the purpose of ascertaining whether it may be withheld. The grounds for withholding mail, as set out in section 108(1) are:
   1. The prisoner or the other person asks the Prison Manager to do so; or
   2. The other person is under 16 years, and his or her guardian asks the Prison Manager to do so; or
   3. The other person is a prisoner, and neither prisoner has notified the Prison Manager of his or her intention to correspond; or
   4. It is correspondence the Prison Manager believes, on reasonable grounds is likely to:
      1. threaten or intimidate a person to whom it is being sent; or
      2. endanger the safety or welfare of any person; or
      3. pose a threat to the security of the prison; or
      4. promote or encourage the commission of an offence, or involve, or facilitate the commission or possible commission of, an offence; or
      5. prejudice the maintenance of the law (including the prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution, and punishment of offences, and the right to a fair trial); or
      6. breach an order or direction of any court or constitute contempt of court.
2. For the purpose of 1 above the manager may have any correspondence translated into English or te reo Maori.

Restrictions on disclosure of mail

An authorised officer must not disclose any information obtained from correspondence contained in any mail between a prisoner and another person unless -

1. the disclosure is made to another authorised officer for the purpose of determining whether -
   1. mail may be withheld for the reasons set out in PPM A.05.01.02 "Opening Mail"; or
   2. mail that is withheld pursuant to PPM A.05.01.02 "Opening Mail" should be forwarded to an enforcement officer.
2. the officer believes, on reasonable grounds, that the disclosure -
   1. is necessary to avoid prejudice to the maintenance of the law by a public sector agency (within the meaning of the Privacy Act 1993), including the prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution, and punishment of offences; or
   2. is necessary for the conduct of proceedings (already commenced or reasonably in contemplation) before a court or tribunal; or
   3. is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to public health, public safety, or the life or health of any person; or
   4. has been authorised by the Privacy Commissioner under section 54(1) of the Privacy Act 1993.
3. the disclosure is required by any enactment or rule of law.

Withholding Mail

1. The Prison Manager may withhold mail between a prisoner and another person (except mail between a prisoner and his or her legal adviser and mail between a prisoner and an official agency or Member of Parliament which is covered in A.05.01.R1) if:
   1. the prisoner or the other person asks the Prison Manager to do so; or
   2. the other person is under 16 years, and his or her guardian asks the Prison Manager to do so; or
   3. the other person is a prisoner, and neither prisoner has first notified the Prison Manager of his or her intention to correspond; or
   4. it is correspondence that the Prison Manager has read, and the manager believes on reasonable grounds that it is likely to -
      1. threaten or intimidate a person to whom it is being sent by the prisoner; or
      2. endanger the safety or welfare of any person; or
      3. pose a threat to the security of the prison; or
      4. promote or encourage the commission of an offence, or involve, or facilitate the commission or possible commission of, an offence; or
      5. prejudice the maintenance of the law (including the prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution, and punishment of offences, and the right to a fair trail); or
      6. breach an order or direction of any court or constitute contempt of court.
2. If mail or an unauthorised item found in any mail is withheld, the prisoner to or from whom the mail was directed must be informed that the mail or item, as the case may be, has been withheld, unless it is to be forwarded to an enforcement officer.

Copying Correspondence

1. No correspondence to or from a prisoner may be copied unless it is:
   1. correspondence between the prisoner and the department; or
   2. copied for the purpose of sending the copy to an enforcement officer, in circumstances where the Prison Manager believes on reasonable grounds that it is likely to:
      1. promote or encourage the commission of an offence or involve, or facilitate the commission or possible commission of, an offence; or
   3. it is copied for the purpose of obtaining legal advice to determine whether:
      1. there are sufficient grounds to withhold the correspondence; or
      2. there are sufficient grounds to read the correspondence; or
      3. there are sufficient grounds to disclose information in the correspondence.
2. An additional copy of the correspondence copied must be made and placed in a centralised filing system, together with a record of the justification for copying the correspondence.