Clamp-down on inmates’ letters
Prison guards will soon have powers to withhold letters from inmates, such as those sent by the Christchurch terror attack suspect.
In August, the Department of Corrections asked the Government for more powers to block mail in and out of prison, after it was revealed a letter written by the mosque attack accused was mailed and later posted in an online messaging board popular with white supremacists.
A second letter from ‘‘a prisoner holding extremist views’’ was also sent from Christchurch Men’s Prison and was understood to have been penned by Philip Arps, who was described as an ‘‘unrepentant, hardcore white supremacist’’ when he was jailed for sharing the mosque terror video earlier this year.
Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis said there was not enough scrutiny and the process was not robust enough.
Information released to Stuff under the Official Information Act reveals Corrections withheld 21 incoming letters and 299 outgoing letters, in the past 12 months.
Last week, Davis sought to tighten the process by adding an amendment to the Corrections Amendment Bill, which looked set to pass after its third reading tonight. National opposes the bill.
The bill contains a number of changes to improve the ability of Corrections to manage prisoners, improve prisoner discipline and safety, and ensure the fair treatment of prisoners.
It includes provisions not to strip-search those vulnerable to self-harm or who have "mental health issues", mother and baby placements, the use of mechanical restraints during hospital visits and the use of police cells.
The latest amendment adds an explicit provision for the withholding of prisoner mail that promotes or encourages hostility towards any group of people; expands the existing withholding ground, so that mail can be withheld if it threatens or intimidates any person; adjusts the threshold for withholding incoming and outgoing prisoner mail; and introduces additional considerations for decision-making about prisoner mail.
Information provided by the minister’s office states Corrections is currently managing a significant number of people with views that might be considered extreme, including about 100 with white supremacist views.
While the Corrections Act provided several grounds to withhold prisoner mail, it did not provide a clear and explicit authority for Corrections to withhold mail that may incite hostility against particular groups. Given that about 15,000 items of mail pass through prisons every week, it was important the legislation was clear about the grounds of withholding mail, the summary said.
The provision would strengthen prisoner mail provisions and address concerns people communicating by mail might use coded language to send or receive messages or information that would otherwise be withheld.