April 26, 2019
Revenge poor basis for prison policy
Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis is not convinced there would be any point to imposing extra sentences on prisoners who attack staff.
The Corrections Association is asking that any time for offences committed in prison is added to the initial sentence, rather then being served concurrently as it is now.
Mr Davis says most prison assaults seem to be random events, often when an inmate it being moved in or out of a cell, and they’re hard to predict.
He says it’s hard to see how punishing someone years after an event would be effective.
"It seems people want revenge rather than want something that works, but if people can put the evidence in front of us, let’s have a look at it," Mr Davis says.
The department is trying to eliminate all assaults in prison, and a 7 percent drop in prisoner numbers over the past year should help reduce some of the tension inside.
Copyright © 2019, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com