December 06, 2021
Fears for prison youth units as Covid space sought
The Assistant Māori Commissioner for Children is urging Corrections not to house rangatahi among the male adult prison population.
Glenis Philip-Barbara says some youth units may close temporarily to free up space for Covid-19 infected prisoners.
While the commission’s mandate is limited to rangatahi 17 and under, she’s also worried about where 18 and 19 years olds in the units may end up.
“Teens in prison who still have an opportunity to be rehabilitated, who still have a chance to have their health needs met, to get on top of the issues that got them in there for first place if you put them into the general muster, they sort of absorb that environment and then our fear is that puts them on a track to that life we are all working so hard to avoid,” Ms Philip-Barbara says.
Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis says there are no plans to put the young people in the units into the general population, and some alternate safe space will be found if the units do get used for Covid isolation.