Contingency prison plans ‘not pretty’

WELLINGTON: If prisoner numbers continue to climb and there are not enough beds to go around, inmates could find themselves sleeping on mattresses on the ground, Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis says.

The news follows the Government decision announced yesterday to scrap National’s megaprison plan for Waikato’s Waikeria Prison and instead build a new 500bed unit featuring a 100bed mental health facility.

Mr Davis said the Corrections Department had contingencies in place if numbers continued to grow.

‘‘They are not pretty plans,’’ he told Newstalk ZB.

‘‘Corrections is looking at options and talking about what we need to do.

‘‘They could be mattresses on floors and things like that.’’

But he was not expecting that to happen, he said.

The new plans were ‘‘just the start’’.

‘‘We have given ourselves 15 years to reduce the prison population by 30% and it will take all of those 15 years in order to do that.’’

Corrections chief executive Ray Smith yesterday said about 50% of the new beds would be double bunking.

He also confirmed psychiatric staff would be permanently on site in the new mental health facility at Waikeria Prison.

Mr Davis said the Government was aware of the bulging prison network, so had approved the construction of 976 more beds at five different prisons.

‘‘Decades of rushed policy and reactive decisions have got us to this point today.

‘‘First off, we need to find a way to deal with the numbers of people currently coming through the prison gates.’’

Mr Davis said new programmes, including removing administrative barriers preventing the release of those eligible for bail, were on track to save a further 150 beds, freeing up $15 million in costs.

National Party leader Simon Bridges said the Government was going to make it harder for police and the courts to send criminals to prison and allow serious offenders to get out sooner, all because it was trying to save money.

‘‘Recent conservative estimates put the forecast prison population at 12,500 by 2026, around 2000 more than now, and that doesn’t include the 900 more beds the Government has been told it will need as a result of having more police on the streets.

‘‘That means New Zealand will be hundreds of prison beds short of what’s needed.’’ — NZME