The "three strikes" legislation being considered by Parliament is being presented as an effective deterrent which will simplify court processes, hasten justice for victims, and punish criminals according to their crimes. Not so, argues Alex Penk.
The banning of four visitors from the Otago Corrections Facility in the month since a dedicated team started searching visitors and their vehicles, should serve as a warning to others, says the prison's manager.
What happens when a proposed piece of legislation is judged by the attorney-general fundamentally to contravene individual rights? Surely, he informs his Cabinet colleagues, then proceeds to vote against it. Not necessarily, suggests Andrew Geddis.
Huge pressure on health services could result from expected increases in prisoner numbers at the Otago Corrections Facility in Milburn, Dr Branko Sijnja says.
A new drug treatment programme that staff describe as "the way forward" began at the Otago Corrections Facility at Milburn this week.
Prisoner aid and rehabilitation society Otago volunteer Rosemary Elder buys books by the arm-load at the fifth annual Rotary and Inner Wheel book sale, being held this week in the Balclutha Memorial Hall.
It is surely unintended by the Government but nonetheless revealing that the proposed new sentencing law which bears some resemblance to that put up by Act New Zealand and its extra-parliamentary proxies, including the Sensible Sentencing Trust, is being promoted with the slogan "Three Strikes and the Max".
A fruit mince pie, their main meal at lunchtime and some extra time for recreational activities are the only changes to prison routine for Christmas Day.
Otago Corrections Facility will mark the holiday but without the trimmings, manager Jack Harrison says.
Privately run prisons are on the Government's agenda after Parliament today passed a bill allowing them to be handed over.
Court cells can be used to temporarily house prisoners, under a bill passed by Parliament today.
Twenty-eight Otago Corrections Facility staff received long service awards this week for their cumulative 329 years of work for the department.
Double-killer Graeme Burton was found guilty this afternoon of attempting to murder a fellow prison inmate last year.
Video evidence of the confrontation which led to Graeme Burton being charged of attempting to murder a fellow inmate in prison has been played to a High Court jury.
An attempt to throw drugs into Christchurch Men's Prison within a tennis ball has fallen short for the second time in two weeks.
The taxpayer-funded price tag of boosting prisoner capacity at the Otago Corrections Facility (OCF) is $21.5 million, it was revealed yesterday.
Prisoner numbers reached their highest level nationwide yesterday, although there was still some spare room at the Otago Corrections Facility at Milburn.
Department of Corrections staff, recently in the firing line for taking an average of 50 domestic flights around New Zealand every day, could soon be saving the taxpayer more than $1 million annually by staying put and using video-conferencing technology instead.
Sparks are flying at a workshop at the Otago Corrections Facility as a select group of prisoners make new bunks for the prison.
Convicted murderer George Baker has been placed in isolation after taking a fellow inmate hostage yesterday.
A 60-bed container unit is to be established at Rimutaka Prison as the Corrections Department seeks ways to house a burgeoning prison population.
