Several prison staff suspended for inquiries
QUESTIONS about corruption at one of the country’s largest prisons have again been raised, with several staff suspended and under investigation.
Rimutaka Prison in Upper Hutt is understood to have suspended at least three staff members for a range of offences.
On Monday The Dominion Post revealed prison guard Damon Tafatu resigned from his job recently after allegations of financial dealings involving prisoner and convicted fraudster Loizos Michaels.
Michaels was jailed for eight years in December after being found guilty of an elaborate fraud that took in casino executives and All Black great Jonah Lomu.
Mr Tafatu, who won the New Zealand powerlifting championship last year only to have it stripped after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs, worked in the low-security segregated unit where Michaels was assigned.
It is understood two other guards are currently suspended from the same segregation unit for unrelated matters.
Rimutaka Prison has been the centre of several high-profile cases involving staff discipline in the past few years. In 2011, Johan Edwin Clarke became the first officer to be charged with corruption and was sentenced to two years and three months in prison after smuggling drugs and KFC for prisoners in return for sex and cash.
In 2006, a spate of corruption claims at the prison forced an independent inquiry, with a permanent special unit set up to investigate future cases.
More recently, one guard resigned and another was suspended after allowing a prisoner they were guarding in Hutt Hospital to order pizza from his bed.
The prison has hired a deputy manager in response to recent cases of ill-discipline by staff.
A Department of Corrections spokeswoman declined a request to interview prison manager Chris Burns, and told The Dominion Post it would have to lodge an Official Information Act request to find out how many staff were suspended at Rimutaka Prison.
In a written statement, Mr Burns said several new measures such as more pre-employment checks and drug testing had been introduced to improve integrity in the workplace.
‘‘Any large organisation may encounter a few staff who cannot maintain the high standards set by the majority, and when staff don’t meet the standards required of them we take the appropriate action regarding the employee involved.’’
Corrections Minister Anne Tolley said she was aware a guard had resigned, and the matter was under investigation.
She was confident Corrections acted swiftly whenever it identified potential wrongdoing among staff, and that it was dealt with appropriately. ‘‘Corrections has around 8000 dedicated, hardworking staff, and I know they feel terribly let down if anyone brings them into disrepute.’’
Labour Party Corrections spokeswoman Jacinda Ardern said it took only a few bad individuals to ruin the reputation of prison staff, most of whom did a fantastic job.
‘‘It’s critical that we maintain the integrity of our Corrections service, and any actions by staff that breach the rules undermine not only the work of other officers, but also their safety.
‘‘The Corrections Department is therefore absolutely obliged to treat all alleged breaches seriously, quickly, and transparently. To do anything else undermines the service and the staff.’’