1844 (2024). Hon Dr Duncan Webb to the Minister of Corrections

1844 (2024). Hon Dr Duncan Webb to the Minister of Corrections: Why when asked at select committee "how many [prisons] are giving the [visiting] entitlement appropriately?" did Jeremy Lightfoot, Chief Executive of Corrections respond "All other sites, I believe" and Leigh Marsh, National Commissioner also respond "All other sites" (other than Rimutaka) when in fact there are nine prison which have only limited visiting; are these other sites in breach of s 73 of the Corrections Act 2004?

Hon Mark Mitchell: I am advised that Corrections acknowledges how important it is for people in prison to keep in contact with friends and family. In accordance with section 69 and 73 of the Corrections Act 2004, every person in prison is afforded a number of minimum entitlements, which includes the ability to receive at least one private visitor each week for a minimum duration of 30 minutes. However, Corrections’ overriding priority is the safety and security of staff, prisoners and visitors to prison sites, and this remains the case for prison visits as well. As noted in section 69 of the Act, minimum entitlements may be denied if there is an emergency in the prison, the security of the prison is threatened or if the health or safety of any person is threatened. Like many other agencies and businesses, Corrections has experienced a number of staffing challenges over the last few years. When fewer staff are available, there are a range of operational decisions that may need to be taken to appropriately maintain the safety and good order of a prison. Corrections’ recruitment campaign is ongoing and I have been assured that hiring and training frontline staff will remain a top priority for Corrections. This does mean at times that the ability for visits to occur is reduced in order to keep staff, prisoners and visitors safe. I am further advised that an increasing number of people see AVL as a preferred option for maintaining contact with family and friends, even when face-to-face visits are available. Some of the reasons include the cost and time involved in travelling to a prison site, the greater availability of convenient times for an AVL visit to take place, and the additional privacy that an AVL visit can provide compared to a visits room at a prison site.