Remand centre is a ‘prison’

New figures reveal New Plymouth’s remand centre has become a quasi-prison, housing two people charged with crimes for as long as five months.

Information provided under the Official Information Act in relation to the $5 million facility, based in the New Plymouth police station, shows that between 2016, when it became a 24 hour a day operation, and February this year,

390 individual offenders have called it home at some point.

The longest an offender had stayed in the 24 bed unit was 156 days or about 22 weeks, about the same amount of time served for a

10 month jail term. The second longest stay, involving a 31-yearold defendant, was 155 days, followed by a 27-year-old facing drug charges who was in the remand centre for 19 weeks.

The average occupancy rate of the remand centre since it went

24/7 was 13 people. The secure unit has 12 double bunked cells.

In a written response, Corrections national commissioner Rachel Leota said the prison population had grown past forecasts, including an increase in people held on remand.

New Zealand’s prison population has been growing steadily for 30 years and in 2016 the muster topped 10,000 for the first time.

In Taranaki alone, those who stand accused of crimes and await a jury trial could be on remand for up to 18 months before they get their day in court.

The burgeoning prison muster is also having an impact on female offenders. The Corrections figures show that of the 12 prisoners in the New Plymouth remand unit on February 19, only one was a man. The rest were females either accused of offending or who had already been sentenced.

One of the sentenced prisoners was former Waitara travel agent Nadene Chapman, jailed for three years on charges related to the theft of more than $700,000.

Leota said Corrections had taken a ‘‘carefully considered approach’’ to manage the prison population in the short and long term, and included in that was the decision to change the operating hours of the New Plymouth remand centre from the five day a week operation it was when it first opened in 2013, to the current seven day a week arrangement.

Meanwhile, a decision on the construction of the so-called ‘‘mega’’ prison at Waikeria is expected to be made in weeks.

The facility, with an associated price tag of $1 billion, would provide an additional 1500 prisoner beds.