Give Chief Executive the Mandate to Stamp out Prison Corruption

Prison Fellowship today called on the media and politicians to support the Chief Executive of Corrections, Barry Matthews, and prison staff who were committed to exposing corruption.

Every time a new incident of corruption is revealed, politicians and the media should applaud prison management for their determination to root out corruption within the system, whether systemic or one-off cases.

What the media and the public need to understand, is that constant carping and criticism will encourage senior prison managers to conceal corruption rather than expose it. As a former public servant, I know of the temptation to keep stuff under wraps, rather than be open and honest. Constant calls for resignations are demoralising, and can tempt officials to suppress information.

When a public servant gets pounced on for being honest, the effects are widespread. Ministers and senior officials duck for cover, scape goating occurs, and the wrong people fall on their swords.

Worldwide, prison corruption increases when the system is put under stress by through flawed public policy. In New Zealand, the prison population has increased by 50% in the last eight years . At Rimutaka, the prisoner population has increased by 50% in the last four years, and 40% of the staff have less than two years experience. Those conditions can lead to gang intimidation of officers, a loss of corporate ethics and values, and reduction in professionalism.

Repeated demands by politicians and the media for the Chief Executives resignation are counter-productive, and will lead to further de-stabilisation within the prison system, said Kim Workman, National Director, of Prison Fellowship. Honest staff need to know they have political mandate and public support to clean up the system.

Anyone who knows of Barry Matthews reputation, when the Commissioner of Police in Western Australia, would know that he is exactly the person needed at this time. He cleaned up corruption within the Police there, and had to withstand a fair amount of political resistance in the process. I cant think of anyone better qualified to do a similar job in New Zealand.

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