Prisons
Phone app will reduce prison numbers - Corrections
The Government is hoping it can reduce reoffending by people on bail by helping them avoid "sitting in call queues, getting grumpy, and then hanging up and running away". Audio
Prison officer caught on camera kicking prisoner in the head
Footage captured by a prison officer's body camera shows his colleague kicking a prisoner in the head as he lay on the ground. Video, Audio
Paremoremo prison guards’ trial starts in Auckland
One Paremoremo guard is accused of kicking a prisoner repeatedly in the head, another's charged with breaking the prisoner's ankle and a third is accused of moving a camera to try and ruin any… Video, Audio
Corrections head: Waikeria prison contract was months away
Ray Smith has contradicted statements made by senior government ministers in Parliament, that a contract for the public private partnership to build the new Waikeria prison was already in place when… Video, Audio
Minister changes inmate forecast comments
Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis has done a swift backtrack saying he was aware of the latest prison population projections when the government made the Waikeria Prison decision. Audio
Relaxing bail laws won't increase public risk - researcher
A researcher who has crunched the numbers on bail is dismissing arguments that relaxing the current system will endanger the public. A review of bail laws is under way, as increasing remand numbers… Audio
Prisoners raise thousands of trees for Matariki planting project
This week a team of volunteers will begin planting 20,000 native trees at Manurewa's Totara Park as part of this year's Matariki (Māori New Year) celebrations. The trees have been grown from seed by… Audio, Gallery
Mental health unit at new prison not ideal - psychiatrist
Doubts are also being raised about Government plans to have a mental health unit within the new Waikeria prison. Forensic psychiatrist Phil Brinded says people with severe mental illness should be in… Audio
Govt's prison plan reckless - National
The National Party has accused the government of being reckless by not going ahead with the mega prison at Waikeria. And it says the plan for a smaller-scale prison at Waikeria puts the public at… Audio
Mini-prison, not mega-prison, to replace 'horrific' Waikeria
"Horrific" was Kelvin Davis' first impression of the aging Waikeria prison when he was appointed Corrections Minister. He's decided to build a small 500-bed jail and a 100-bed mental health unit to… Audio
New prison in Waikeria will be ready by 2022
Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis says the government's decision on a new, smaller prison in Waikeria will save it $250m it can spend on other areas. He joins Checkpoint live. Video, Audio
Young Māori go to UN to oppose mega-prison
As the government decides whether to build a controversial new billion-dollar 'mega prison' in Waikeria, a group of young Maori have taken their fight to oppose it to the United Nations. Julia… Audio
Te Reo prison pilot helping stamp out gang rivalries
A pilot programme at a South Auckland prison is being credited with helping Maori men reconnect with their culture, and is stamp out gang rivalries and jail tensions in the process. Video, Audio
Bail law changes considered in response to growing prison population
Justice Minister Andrew Little has signalled bail laws may be in for a shake-up with the prison population ballooning. Tracey Marceau says backtracking on previous changes will put people at risk. Audio
Sir Peter Gluckman: media needs to read data on prisons
A report released on Thursday by justice sector science advisor Dr Ian Lambie and the Prime Minister's chief science advisor, Sir Peter Gluckman, is called, "Using evidence to build a better justice… Audio
No to new prisons
The Prime Minister's chief science advisor Peter Gluckman says building new prisons is not the answer to fighting crime. Prison reform advocate Roger Brooking says our justice system actually… Audio
Leading academics urge govt to drop mega prison plan
The government will soon have to decide whether to go ahead with a $1 billion expansion of Waikeria Prison in the South Waikato. The new facility would hold an additional three thousand inmates but… Audio
Critical time for justice in NZ: Jarrod Gilbert
Dr Jarrod Gilbert from the University of Canterbury has likened Andrew Little's intent to reform the prison system, with the abolition of the death penalty by Minister of Justice Ralph Hanan in 1961… Audio
The countries closing their prisons
John Sinclair has recently returned from studying penal systems overseas and found there are some countries that are reducing their prison population and, unlike New Zealand, closing down jails. Audio