September 07, 2020
Auckland Women’s Prison fails welfare test
Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis says the department is addressing problems identified in an internal review that found major deficiencies at Auckland Women’s Prison.
Radio New Zealand says the review found a punitive culture where guards are too quick to resort to force, prisoners not getting their allotted time out of their cells, and not having enough health workers to meet the needs of the prison’s 400 inmates.
Mr Davis says what happened at the prison was at odds with the Hōkai Rangi strategy to improve wellbeing and outcomes for Māori, which he wants rolled out at every prison.
"It’s important to me that people are treated with dignity and respect because we want people to be better people when they leave prison than when they entered prison," he says.
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