Contract prisons Bill allows close monitoring
Hon Judith Collins
Minister of Corrections
17
November 2009
Media Statement
Contract prisons Bill allows close monitoring
The Department of Corrections will be able to keep a close watch on contract prison managers to ensure contracts are complied with, Corrections Minister Judith Collins said today.
Delivering the second reading of the Corrections (Contract Management of Prisons) Amendment Bill, Ms Collins said additional monitors would be permitted to “increase the Department’s ability to monitor contractors’ performance and compliance.
“Additional monitors will be used in situations where increased surveillance may be required. For example, additional monitors may be appointed to a prison to provide 24 hour monitoring, or an extra monitor may simply be appointed to a particularly large prison,” Ms Collins said.
“The Chief Executive will also be able to appoint specialist monitors for particular purposes. For example, this could include investigating the suspicion of criminal activity in a prison.”
The Government is following through with its election pledge to introduce contract management to some New Zealand prisons. This would bring new ideas and practices into the prison system which would raise standards across the board, Ms Collins said.
Legislation provided for the private management of prisons in 1995, but this was repealed in 2004 by the Labour-led Government. This saw the end of the private management of the Auckland Central Remand Prison (ACRP).
The Department of Corrections adopted many of the private manager’s innovations when it took over the prison again in July 2005.
The Department of Corrections’ Chief Executive would be responsible for prisons under both public and private management. Contractors’ performance will be overseen by prison monitors and contractors will be subject to strict reporting requirements.
Following input from the Select Committee, the Bill will now require specific reporting of employment and skills development initiatives for prisoners, and improve sharing of information about prisoners between the contractor and other Government agencies.
ENDS