New regime inside jails for national lockdown
Prison inmates will get a $5 phonecard and increased contact via email while the country is in lockdown.
On Tuesday, Corrections advised it was suspending all private and volunteer visits, release to work activities and other nonessential movements in and out of prison sites.
Corrections National Commissioner Rachel Leota said the department wanted to help maintain contact for inmates through increased telephone calls, letters and emails. More phones would be installed in residential units, and the use of inbound emails that can be printed and given to prisoners would be increased.
Following the Government’s lockdown announcement, Corrections had been assessing the operational impact for managing 10,000 people in prisons and about 30,000 people serving sentences in the community, Leota said. The prison muster currently is 10,034, with 3911 on remand.
About 34 per cent of prisoners are double bunked and prisoners are encouraged to maintain a 2-metre distance from each other, wherever possible.
Plans were in place to mitigate the risk of any infectious illness from spreading in prison, she said.
All new prisoners will go into isolation for 14 days, while prisoners displaying any symptoms are also being isolated. Prisoners over 70 years old and those with underlying health conditions would be managed separately.
The department had been following advice from the Ministry of
The prison muster currently is 10,034, with 3911 on remand.
Health since January in order to mitigate the risk Covid-19 presented in a prison environment.
Prison staff would use measures practised last year during the measles outbreak, to quickly isolate prisoners as required and identify their contacts.
Further changes would be made within the next couple of days.
Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis said there had been no confirmed cases of Covid-19 in any prison. The normal process for release, including Out of Gate support, would continue.
Corrections has also suspended community work activities.
From yesterday, all Community Corrections sites would be closed and probation staff would continue to monitor offenders serving sentences in the community via phone, Leota said. ‘‘Staff will continue to assist people to source accommodation and provide other practical support as we can.’’
All electronic monitoring of offenders in the community would also continue as usual, including the installation or removal of monitoring equipment. Reports for the Parole Board and courts will also continue, with interviews done by phone or video link.
Staff in receiving offices and units accommodating prisoners during their first 14 days in prison will wear face masks and gloves when interacting with prisoners and will be practising physical distancing. Personal protective gear was also available for health staff treating unwell prisoners.