Otago's new prison has closed two 30-prisoner wings because of low inmate numbers and management cannot say when the situation will change.
The Otago Corrections Facility (OCF) has a capacity of 335 prisoners but only 240 were locked up yesterday, prompting management to ask at least four corrections officers to take some annual leave now. It is understood that more face an unexpected holiday.
Ironically, the $218 million prison was opened last May to help the Government cope with ballooning prisoner numbers, but OCF manager Jack Harrison confirmed last night the two wings - one high security section and a remand wing - were shut just before Christmas and showed no sign of re-opening.
It is unclear how much this will cost the Department of Corrections, but Mr Harrison said the closures were not uncommon at this time of year and a ‘‘management practice'' used by the department.
No staff were forced to take holidays and those on leave had offered to take some time off. More staff faced the prospects of an unexpected holiday as management sat tight, waiting for prisoner numbers to increase.
Mr Harrison said the phenomenon was ‘‘seasonal'', but he admitted the 240 prisoner number was ‘‘a little less than we had expected''.
The two wings each form half a 60-bed unit. The other half, which remains open, continues to function normally. ‘‘A minimal number of prisoners were affected by the closing of these two wings and they have since been re-housed in other areas of the prison.
It should be noted the closure of these two wings has not had an impact on the day-to-day running of the prison, as these units can be opened as prisoner numbers increase and this can happen at short notice, if needed.''
Growing prisoner numbers was the major reason behind the Government's initiative to build four new regional prisons around the country. It is not known if any other facilities are in the same situation as OCF.
National Party law and order spokesman Simon Power said the situation sounded more like bad Government planning.
‘‘When you're talking about [the total cost being] $265,000 a bed, it makes you wonder whether those people who planned the prison undertook enough background work to understand the seasonal nature of the prison muster.''
He accepted there would be ‘‘fluctuations'', but the closure of two entire wings did not sound like a simple fluctuation Mr Power said the low number seemed odd, considering the backlogs in the courts and the spate of summer murders.
