D.—l

XXI

Prison Buildings and Works. With the exception of extensions needed at Invercargill to meet the demand for separate accommodation of persons committed for Borstal treatment, the present building programme of the Prisons Department is nearing its close, the approaching completion of Mount Crawford Prison at Wellington and Paparua Prison at Christchurch practically marking a halt in the need of recent years for increased accommodation of all sentenced persons. Within the last few years the policy of drafting men to prison farms has assisted to relieve the congestion of city prisons, and has enabled the capital cost of accommodation to be kept at a minimum. Hence during the last few years the demands on Public Works Fund for prison buildings have been reducing, and for 1928-29 the expenditure was relatively low, being £12,572. The following briefly sets out what work has been carried out last year with that sum : — At Auckland Prison the conversion of the quarry plant was completed so as to meet the changed modern-highway demands for high-class graded metal. At Waikeria Borstal Institution and Reformatory capital erections were confined to erection of a third dairy to accommodate the increasing dairy herd of this productive farm. At New Plymouth Prison a baker's oven was installed, with the satisfactory results anticipated both from an expense-saving and a vocational point of view. Improvements were also made to the existing cell accommodation of that prison. At Mount Crawford Prison, Wellington, work had sufficiently progressed to enable all inmates to be transferred from the old Terrace Prison and is now in full occupation. With some little additional expenditure 011 complement workshops, garages, &c., this prison will require no further capital expenditure for some time. The programme of cottage-erections for officers' accommodation was much advanced and is now nearing completion. At Wi Tako Prison, Trentham, additional accommodation commenced in previous years was completed last year and is now sufficient to meet all anticipated demands. At this prison a commencement was made to lay a high-pressure water system from the Upper Hutt Borough supply. This will be completed in the current year. At Addington Women's Reformatory, Christchurch, the erection and equipping of a modern laundry was completed for carrying out Defence and Railway laundry - work. The Public Account saving to the State by this utilization of prison labour has already exceeded the total capital cost of construction on the laundry. At Paparua Prison, Christchurch, erection of exercise-yards was gone on with, following the completion of the buildings. These yards are now practically completed. The erection of washing and screening plant at this prison was completed, and is now, with the aid of a crusher transferred from Mangahao Hydro-electric Power Station, producing crushed and graded metal for local highways in the southern environs of Christchurch. The remainder of principal buildings and works of the Department was confined to the Invercargill Borstal Institution. This included erection of an additional story to one of the wings to meet the demand for more accommodation, erection of a garage for the farm motor-truck, and continuance of estuaryreclamation. Police-stations. The expenditure on police-stations for the year amounted to £6,925. New stations were erected at Normanby, Sumner, and Lumsden, and new offices at Hastings, Mount Albert, and Lower Hutt. A contract was let for approximately £5,000 for additions to the Auckland Central Police-station to provide muchneeded accommodation, and the work is now in progress.