Kitset cells for crim crisis

Kitset cells are being put together for 360 inmates as the prison population hits its highest ever levels. The number of people in prison on Friday was 10,481, more than 1000 inmates above projections.

To deal with burgeoning numbers, Corrections turned to the kitset cells with parts built off-site then shipped to the prison to be put together.

The cells are quicker and cheaper to produce than a new prison, with most of the building work taking place outside the prison.

National prisons commissioner Rachel Leota said they had been used by prisons in Australia, the United States and United Kingdom to provide “a durable, well-built, costeffective, safe, secure and humane option”. The steel and concrete-lined “modular accommodation units” would be double-bunked.

There are two 120-bed units set for Rolleston prison in Canterbury and another at Tongariro in the central North Island.

Leota said traditional building work was taking place at Arohata, Hawke’s Bay and Christchurch Men’s prisons to further expand capacity.

Increasing prison numbers were “heavily influenced by external factors outside Corrections direct control”. That included law changes, decisions in the courts, policing trends and crime levels, Leota said.

Justice advocate Roger Brooking said the first step to dealing with prison numbers was to repeal the Bail Amendment Act. He said it was a “knee-jerk reaction” from “tough-on-crime” pundits to which the National Party had responded.

Corrections figures show the number of prisoners on remand has gone from around 1800 inmates three years ago to just over 3000.

Brooking said the definition of “short” sentences also needed to change, pushing it from two years to five years. Inmates serving “short” sentences are automatically released after serving half the sentence.

He said public concerns about safety could be met by using money saved on prison costs to improve funding of drug and alcohol services and to provide better services for released prisoners.

The pressure on Corrections has seen the total number of people behind bars lift beyond 10,500 recently — an 18 per cent increase in inmate numbers in three years.