31 May 2012

Closure dates set for jails

9:55 pm on 31 May 2012

Closure dates have been confirmed for two prisons and a series of other jail units throughout New Zealand.

The closures begin in June when one unit at Rangipo Prison, near Turangi in the central North Island, will be formally decommissioned.

Before the end of this year, units at Waikeria Prison in King Country, Rolleston Prison in Canterbury and Arohata Prison in Wellington will also be shut.

The decommissioning of Mt Crawford Prison in Wellington has been confirmed for November, while New Plymouth prison will shut entirely in March 2013.

Some 125 jobs will go, although the Department of Corrections says staff will be offered work at other prisons.

Corrections chief executive Ray Smith says talks are underway with New Plymouth workers who can't easily transfer to another jail.