The sad state of Corrections
Nicola Boyes in the SST deals with the very sad litany of Corrections failure and corruption.
* A SST investigation found Rotorua Corrections officers are allowing inmates’ families and friends in the court’s back door, bringing in food, drugs, money and other contraband.
* Police had begged the probation service – run by Corrections – to recall Graeme Burton to jail five weeks before he allegedly went on a shooting rampage.
* Claims by a Dutch couple recruited to work at Rimutaka Prison that officers were being bribed by gangs and prisoners had unlimited access to drugs.
* Claims that a smorgasbord of drugs is available to Mt Eden prison inmates, sold under guards’ noses.
* Reform programmes being run in the prisons leading to higher rates of recidivism.
* Claims from the Prison Officers Association that prison managers turn a blind eye to violent assaults in prisons in order to claim bonuses.
Of all the bad decisions made by this Labour Government, the one which I think was most harmful for society, and the most deplorable was taking Auckland Remand Prison from private management, despite first class reviews, and turning it over to the Corrections Department.
January 28th, 2007 at 11:50 am
It might come as a surprise but most of these things have gone on in prisons since moby dick was a guppy. Many times I have sat in the mezzanine floor of Mt Eden waiting to see a client and looking down on the visiting area and watched stuff exchanged at will by mouth and by hand. The screws turn a blind eye and have done so for as long as I can remember. I understand National’s goal to politicise this as much as possible, and they should, but I bet it wouldn’t be able to sotp them if in power. I agree with your last paragraph: the ACRP was a resounding success, so much so that the new prisons currently built should be privatised too.
January 28th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
I was given a tour of the Auckland Remand Prison several years ago when it was still privately run. It was a very impressive facility. There was a level of respect between inmates and guards that probably didn’t exist at any other prison in New Zealand. The inmates were free to walk around and the guards seemed not to be worried about their safety. The guy who ran the place was very bright and dedicated to his work. And then the government ruined everything.
January 28th, 2007 at 12:50 pm
* Claims from the Prison Officers Association that prison managers turn a blind eye to violent assaults in prisons in order to claim bonuses.
thats the scariest of the claims.
January 28th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
Hmmmm….lots of claims. I wonder though, that few people seem to have heard of an associated word, “evidence”. Is there any proof these things happened? Or are they just yet another excuse for a rightwing whingefest?
January 28th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
is hisself an excuse for the inexcusable?
January 28th, 2007 at 3:02 pm
Did you read the other article where Corrections boss says he refuses to investigate irregularities. Thats turning a blind eye and is deplorable. My thoughts here.
January 29th, 2007 at 8:38 am
Did you read the other article where Corrections boss says he refuses to investigate irregularities.
As usual the rightie nutjob gets it totally wrong. Barry Matthews has just been extensively interviewed on Morning Report emphatically saying exactly the opposite, but as hisself correctly pointed out above, the SST article was a lightweight piece of dreck that was long on allegation and absolutely light on substance.
January 29th, 2007 at 8:17 pm
Way to go with the robust analysis. The Rotorua guy was employed by Police not Corrections. The whole “Corrections” dimension was a police spin. Way to be sucked in.
Prison bosses don’t get bonuses related to assaults – precisely in order to avoid perverse incentives. Assaults have been dramatically reduced in prisons over the years through the vigilance of staff and improved procedures. Check out the rate of assaults during the 90s. If I was a True Blue Nat defender I would not be stirring this pot too much. The fact is, prison is full of arseholes and bad things happen.
Guards and Prison Managers turn a blind eye to drugs? Why? Anyone who has ever had more than three minutes exposure to prison management will tell you that drugs ANY drugs are dangerous in prisons because they create violent standover and unpredictable prisoners. That coupled with bonuses actually being handed out on drug targets – would suggest that this is just non-prison people THINKING that guards indulge prisoners’ drug habits. Once again, the rate of drugs in prisons is much lower now than it was during the 90s. Again, something I am not sure a true blue Nat should be stirring up.
Police begged Corrections? Bullshit. The Police had some info that they were unwilling to pass on. Corrections doesn’t recall prisoners – a Judge does that (for the initial) and the Parole board does it for the full recall. All Corrections can do is make a convincing case for an interim recall order. A Probation Officer cannot go to a judge and say “recall this guy because Police said so…no I don’t know anything more than that…but the Police say it’s important” The Probation Officer would be laughed out of the Court. So, where do you think the SST got the idea that Corrections was deficient? Hmmm, what about the Police. Why not ask Police what information they had on Burton and why they did not pass it on to Corrections? You might find out that Police were watching Burton and letting him do all this stuff to see where it all connected. They then try to snare him up via recall – but screwed that up. Now they’re using this unmitigated drivel about recall to distract attention away from their own failings. I think the Probation Officer made a difficult but right call. If anyone deserves a bullet it’s the Police. But, no that won’t happen. The Police are too adept at spin and the journos (and it seems Bloggers) are too lazy to make some basic check on facts.
January 29th, 2007 at 8:18 pm
Way to go with the robust analysis. The Rotorua guy was employed by Police not Corrections. The whole “Corrections” dimension was a police spin. Way to be sucked in.
Prison bosses don’t get bonuses related to assaults – precisely in order to avoid perverse incentives. Assaults have been dramatically reduced in prisons over the years through the vigilance of staff and improved procedures. Check out the rate of assaults during the 90s. If I was a True Blue Nat defender I would not be stirring this pot too much. The fact is, prison is full of arseholes and bad things happen.
Guards and Prison Managers turn a blind eye to drugs? Why? Anyone who has ever had more than three minutes exposure to prison management will tell you that drugs ANY drugs are dangerous in prisons because they create violent standover and unpredictable prisoners. That coupled with bonuses actually being handed out on drug targets – would suggest that this is just non-prison people THINKING that guards indulge prisoners’ drug habits. Once again, the rate of drugs in prisons is much lower now than it was during the 90s. Again, something I am not sure a true blue Nat should be stirring up.
Police begged Corrections? Bullshit. The Police had some info that they were unwilling to pass on. Corrections doesn’t recall prisoners – a Judge does that (for the initial) and the Parole board does it for the full recall. All Corrections can do is make a convincing case for an interim recall order. A Probation Officer cannot go to a judge and say “recall this guy because Police said so…no I don’t know anything more than that…but the Police say it’s important” The Probation Officer would be laughed out of the Court. So, where do you think the SST got the idea that Corrections was deficient? Hmmm, what about the Police. Why not ask Police what information they had on Burton and why they did not pass it on to Corrections? You might find out that Police were watching Burton and letting him do all this stuff to see where it all connected. They then try to snare him up via recall – but screwed that up. Now they’re using this unmitigated drivel about recall to distract attention away from their own failings. I think the Probation Officer made a difficult but right call. If anyone deserves a bullet it’s the Police. But, no that won’t happen. The Police are too adept at spin and the journos (and it seems Bloggers) are too lazy to make some basic check on facts.
January 29th, 2007 at 8:20 pm
Way to go with the robust analysis. The Rotorua guy was employed by Police not Corrections. The whole “Corrections” dimension was a police spin. Way to be sucked in.
Prison bosses don’t get bonuses related to assaults – precisely in order to avoid perverse incentives. Assaults have been dramatically reduced in prisons over the years through the vigilance of staff and improved procedures. Check out the rate of assaults during the 90s. If I was a True Blue Nat defender I would not be stirring this pot too much. The fact is, prison is full of arseholes and bad things happen.
Guards and Prison Managers turn a blind eye to drugs? Why? Anyone who has ever had more than three minutes exposure to prison management will tell you that drugs ANY drugs are dangerous in prisons because they create violent standover and unpredictable prisoners. That coupled with bonuses actually being handed out on drug targets – would suggest that this is just non-prison people THINKING that guards indulge prisoners’ drug habits. Once again, the rate of drugs in prisons is much lower now than it was during the 90s. Again, something I am not sure a true blue Nat should be stirring up.
Police begged Corrections? Bullshit. The Police had some info that they were unwilling to pass on. Corrections doesn’t recall prisoners – a Judge does that (for the initial) and the Parole board does it for the full recall. All Corrections can do is make a convincing case for an interim recall order. A Probation Officer cannot go to a judge and say “recall this guy because Police said so…no I don’t know anything more than that…but the Police say it’s important” The Probation Officer would be laughed out of the Court. So, where do you think the SST got the idea that Corrections was deficient? Hmmm, what about the Police. Why not ask Police what information they had on Burton and why they did not pass it on to Corrections? You might find out that Police were watching Burton and letting him do all this stuff to see where it all connected. They then try to snare him up via recall – but screwed that up. Now they’re using this unmitigated drivel about recall to distract attention away from their own failings. I think the Probation Officer made a difficult but right call. If anyone deserves a bullet it’s the Police. But, no that won’t happen. The Police are too adept at spin and the journos (and it seems Bloggers) are too lazy to make some basic check on facts.