July 19, 2013
Sharples happy with rehab house
Associate Corrections Minister Pita Sharples says new rehabilitation units at Springhill and Hawkes Bay prison are working very well.
Whare Oranga Ake are 16-bed units outside the prison wire for prisoners nearing release and can learn the skills they need to reintegrate with society.
Dr Sharples, who visited Springhill yesterday, says it’s a place they can be reunited with their families and the community and get some training.
"Some of them have been in for quite a number of years and are determined to get out and have some sort of life with their families. The good of this Whare Oranga Ake that we have invented is these guys are not going to come back again, because our major problem with New Zealand prisons is recidivism, people going out there unable to handle it, commit a crime and they are back again," he says.
The Corrections Department says it is making good progress towards its target of reducing reoffending by 25 percent by 2017, with reoffending down by 9 percent from June 2011.
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