Security checks delay move to new prison wing

A delay in moving prisoners to a newly opened $300 million facility is due to security testing, Corrections says.

Auckland Prison’s new maximum security unit was officially opened on July 13 but prisoners still haven’t moved into the facility despite the original move-in date being in that month.

Department of Corrections chief custodial officer Neil Beale said ‘‘extensive testing’’ of the facility had been carried out in recent weeks.

This included testing of state-of-the-art electronic systems and ensuring staff were trained to use them before the first prisoners were transferred, Beale said.

‘‘We won’t compromise on staff, prisoner or public safety. It is critical we get this right.’’

Beale said the date, which had shifted several times, was ‘‘always subject to change’’ and prisoners would be moved in the coming weeks. ‘‘The final date [was] only agreed once we were satisfied with every aspect involving the safe and secure movement of the prisoners.’’

The construction of the 260-place development was announced by the Government in 2013 and the prison was built under a public-private partnership deal.

It contains four new accommodation units, linked to central services by covered walkways, which provide health services, visits, meals and laundry. There is a purpose-built mental health treatment unit with more than 65 beds.

The new wing also contains the country’s first sensory garden.

Former Corrections northern regional commissioner Jeanette Burns said, in 2016, the new facilities would be a ‘‘significant improvement’’. ‘‘The existing prison was built in 1968, almost half-a-century ago, and the facility has become in dire need of an upgrade.’’

Beale said no decision had been confirmed regarding the future of the old facility but there were no plans to use it to house prisoners. Auckland Prison’s capacity will remain unchanged at 680 prisoners.