Prisons sought in commercial areas of Chch

Press, 14 September 1988, Page 4

Prisons sought in commercial areas of Chch

Minimum security prisons should be established in the commercial areas of Christchurch, the Committee of Inquiry into Prison Systems heard yesterday.

Minimum security prisons in commercial areas would make integrating prisoners back into the community easier, said the director of the Salisbury Street Foundation, Mr Ken Turner. Work parole was a good idea, but was difficult to put into practice when prisoners were out at the Rolleston and Paparua prisons. It was hard for them to get into town for job interviews, and there was “no way” employers would travel to the prisons for interviews, he said. “We would like to see people released to minimum security prisons so we can start integrating

them into society prior to their release,” said Mr Turner. It was vital prisoners were kept in touch with what was going on in the community long before their release, he said. Otherwise transition back into the community was extremely difficult. “These people don’t even know how to catch a bus, and they do things like put two cent pieces in parking meters.” Mr Turner also expressed concern about half remissions. Many people in prison knew exactly what to say and to whom if they wanted half remissions, and it was hard to determine their true motivations, he said.

Some people got out of prison and into the foundation’s programme on half remissions, but were expelled after only a few weeks. These cases were not followed up by the Justice Department, and this created a concern that the foundation would be seen as an easy way out o f prison. The Salisbury Street Foundation has been running for 10 years, and has 10 residents and six nonresidents on its programme. The Committee of Inquiry into Prison Systems, with Sir Clinton Roper as chairman, is meeting in Christchurch this week for its final round of public hearings.