Plan to move prisoners delayed
The temporary move of 60 low-security Invercargill prisoners to Otago Corrections Facility has been delayed because of a shortage of beds.
Corrections acting national commissioner Leigh Marsh said the prisoners could not be transferred because of the amount of people on remand and not enough beds being available at Otago.
‘‘We were planning on temporarily moving 60 low security prisoners from the South Unit at Invercargill Prison to Otago Corrections Facility this month, as part of our national strategy to utilise bed space throughout our prison network,’’ she said.
However, Corrections would continue to assess the situation and the plan for the temporary move of the prisoners would resume around mid-August, Marsh said.
The delay had not had any impact on the daily operations of Invercargill Prison, she said.
Last month, when it was announced the prisoner’s would be moved, Marsh said ‘‘following our response to the increasing risk posed by the Covid-19 pandemic over the past two years, we made the conscious decision to disperse the prison population across a greater number of units, while reducing the use of double bunking to minimise the risk of transmission’’.
The temporary step was a move towards returning prison sites to pre-Covid-19 operations.
‘‘While we are moving prisoners out of some units, as well as between some prisons, no units are being closed or decommissioned. They will remain fully operational in case they are required in the future,’’ Marsh said.
Marsh acknowledged that as a result there would be a temporary increase in prisoner movements between prisons, as well as an increase in double bunking in some units.
‘‘However, we do not expect this to have a negative impact for prisoners as we will see greater unlock hours which means more time out of their cells, a gradual return to in-person visits with family and friends and staff being able to undertake core safety training,’’ Marsh said.
As of December 15, there were 111 prisoners at Invercargill Prison.