Kyla
09-22-2004, 02:41 AM
Wanganui Prison
Background
Wanganui Prison has five separate complexes, Kaitoke, Whanui, Self Care, Te Moenga and Southwood which accommodate male inmates. The main Kaitoke complex was built in 1978.
Kaitoke houses administration, health, supervision, four units and an At Risk unit. Whanui, a stand alone 60 bed medium security prison opened in 1988, and in 1990, a high-medium security unit known as Te Moenga opened. Southwood, a stand alone 80 bed low medium/minimum security prison, opened in 1997 and not long after this a 20 bed minimum security Self Care unit opened in July 1998. The specialised 12 bed unit for offenders at risk of harming themselves opened in 2000.
The main institution holds a maximum of 190 inmates, plus 32 in Te Moenga, 60 in Whanui, 80 in Southwood and a further 20 in the Self Care Unit, totalling 382 male inmates.
New Plymouth, Wanganui, Manawatu and Hawke's Bay , prisons together form the Midland prison region.
Sentence management
The Department of Corrections provides a structured and integrated approach to offender management.
On arrival at prison, each inmate is assessed according to their risk of re-offending, the causes and influences of their offending behaviour, and their willingness to change. The assessment also looks at educational needs, health needs, special needs, and security risks.
A sentence plan is drawn up based on this assessment, focusing on giving the offender opportunities to break the cycle of re-offending. The plan may include programmes aimed at giving inmates the skills to deal with challenges they may face when they return to the community, such as budgeting, employment and relationships.
The process allows for the most appropriate form of intervention to be targeted to each offender. Interventions range from providing education and a career start for young offenders, to providing intensive programmes to those offenders motivated to address the causes of their offending.
Corrections has a strategy in place to minimise harm caused by drug use. The strategy aims to reduce the supply and demand of drugs in prison and the crime associated with it. To achieve the strategy, some of the methods used include visitor searches, vehicle checkpoints, use of drug dogs, a national 0800 JAILSAFE phone line, gathering crime related intelligence, liaison with the Police, and Alcohol and Drug inmate rehabilitation programmes.
All New Zealand prisons provide medical, dental, psychological and counselling services. Chaplains provide church services and Bible study groups.
Rehabilitation
A range of programmes has been developed either to improve motivation to change, address educative or employment needs or specifically address what drives an offender's offending behaviour.
The following programmes are offered at Wanganui Prison:
* Straight Thinking - designed to assist offenders to address one of the main causes of their offending - the lack of critical reasoning required to live effectively in society.
* National Certificate in Employment Skills (NCES) - designed to improve the basic literacy and numeracy levels of inmates.
* Adult Literacy.
* Substance Abuse programmes - designed to address an offenders' substance abuse when it is one of the main contributing causes of their offending.
* Violence Prevention - group-based treatment for violent offenders.
* Tikanga Maori - designed to address re-offending from a Maori philosophy, values, knowledge and practices perspective.
Wanganui Prison also offers programmes in anger management and cultural programmes including kapa haka, and mauranga tipua.
Returning to the community
The Department believes the successful reintegration of offenders into the community provides the best protection for society. The Department aims to provide offenders with the skills, knowledge and confidence to live successfully in the community in order to reduce their likelihood of re-offending, and a range of reintegrative services is available.
Reintegrative needs are assessed at the start of an offender's sentence, and reviewed throughout. There are seven reintegrative objectives that can be planned for. These are:
* finding a job
* finding somewhere to live
* budgeting effectively
* managing relationships
* developing positive community support
* preventing victim-related problems
* keeping healthy.
There are three levels of assistance, with all offenders receiving "level one" self-help. This includes contact details of organisations that can help them re-settle once they have left prison, and access via case officers to a knowledge base. Some offenders will require greater support from their case officer, and further referral can be made to other specialist staff (e.g. a social worker) or external agencies (e.g. NZPARS) who can provide more in depth support and advice.
For those who do not have the skills to live independently on release, a further level of support is available through reintegrative programmes and/or living in self-care units. These are scheduled for near the end of their period in prison. Three reintegrative programmes have been developed:
* Living Skills - a 36-hour broad-based programme to give offenders skills and knowledge across most reintegrative areas
* Budgeting Skills - a 10-hour group programme aimed at offenders with specific budgeting and money needs
* Parenting Skills - a 32-hour group programme designed to meet parenting skills needs.
While these programmes are not yet available at all prisons, it is anticipated they will be fully operational by 2004. All three programmes have been designed to meet the specific needs of Maori, Pacific Peoples, women and youth.
In addition to prison-based programmes, home leave, reintegration paroles and release to work are available prior to release. Planning for an inmate's reintegration begins as soon as they arrive in prison.
The prison works with a range of community providers including; Te Rapu Ora, Literacy Aotearoa, Aotea Associated Consultants, New Horizons and Pacific Island Advisors.
Employment
Inmates are employed in the following areas of work: joinery, carpentry, plumbing, painting, kitchen, laundry, gardens and grounds maintenance.
There is also the opportunity to work in the finger jointing factory, native plant nursery, engineering workshop, pre-casting concrete products or cleaning and maintenance.
Small clothing and screen printing workshops have also been set up. There is an increasing amount of work being done under contract such as scrub clearing, tree pruning, fencing and planting. This is seen as important as it is often the only type of work available to some inmates on release.
Inmates receive a small incentive for the work they do.
Eligible inmates can in their last 12 months of sentence undertake release to work. They benefit by gaining work skills and a wage. They pay "board" and taxes and often pay off any outstanding fines, or debts that were outstanding before coming to prison.
Inmates can register with "Fresh-start" who will assist to "broker" employment for inmates with participating employers in the community.
Education
Courses within the institution include Maori culture, communication skills, life skills, anger management, stress management, skills of enterprise, human relations and first aid.
The National Certificate in Employment Skills is available to inmates at Wanganui Prison. This is a pre-employment qualification which offers learning in a range of work related skills, including basic literacy and numeracy. NCES is recognised by many industry areas throughout New Zealand. The focus on improving the educational level of inmates to assist them in gaining future employment.
Special units
At Risk Unit
A specialised At Risk Unit accommodates inmates who have been identified as being at risk of self-harm.
Self-care accommodation
Wanganui Prison's self-care accommodation units enable selected long-term minimum-security inmates to re-establish basic living skills and individual responsibility that help them prepare for release back into the community.
Maori Focus Unit
The goal of the Maori Focus Unit is for inmates to leave with positive objectives and improved skills for the future which reduce the likelihood of their re-offending.
The kaupapa of the unit is to establish a culturally appropriate environment in which inmates can address issues relating to their offending. The key to this is establishing a tikanga Maori environment in which inmates can face the issues that led to their offending.
Through the practice of Maori values and disciplines, and the creation of Maori programmes, the unit aims to bring about positive changes in thinking and behaviour.
The unit also has a carving centre, where inmates develop carving skills and work individually or collectively on projects.
General information
Wanganui Prison
Private Bag 3000
WANGANUI
Wanganui Prison (06) 348 3560
Fax (06) 348 0951
Site Manager Tony Howe
Wanganui Prison is on Pauri Road, 10km south of Wanganui. The Prisoners' Aid and Rehabilitation Society, (06) 345-5969, provides transport for inmates' families during the week at a cost of $10 per round trip.
Visiting times
Classification
Day
Time
Te Moenga
Saturday/Sunday
9.30 - 10.30am
1.30 - 2.30pm
Thursday, Friday
12.30pm - 2.45pm
Witness Protection
Monday to Thursday
1.30 - 2.30pm
Whanui
Saturday and Sunday
1pm - 3.30pm
IDU Visits
Saturday
Morning
Self Care Unit
Saturday, Sunday
1pm - 3.30pm
Southwood
Saturday, Sunday
1pm - 3.30pm
IDU Visits
Saturday, Sunday
1pm - 3.30pm
Kaitoke Complex
Remand 2
Monday
1.30 - 3.30pm
IDU Visits
Monday
1.15 - 1.45pm
2pm - 2.30pm
Remand
Tuesday
2.30 - 3.30pm
B Seg Visits
Tuesday
1.15 - 2.15pm
Remand
Wednesday
2.30 - 3.30pm
IDU Visits
Wednesday
1.15 - 1.45pm
2pm - 2.30pm
A/C Seg Visits
Thursday
1.15 - 1.45pm
B Seg Visits
Thursday
1.15 - 2.15pm
Remand
Thursday
2.30 - 3.30pm
Remand
Friday
2.30 - 3.30pm
IDU Visits
Friday
1.15 - 1.14pm
2pm - 2.30pm
Sentenced
Saturday
1.15 - 2.15pm
2.30 - 3.30pm
Sentenced
Sunday
1.15 - 2.15pm
2.30 - 3.30pm
Please note: Visitors should ensure that they have a visit time booked with the prison and a letter from the prison confirming this visiting time. Visitors arriving at the prison will be asked by staff to produce their letter of approval, sent prior to the visit, and a form of indentification. Other arrangements to visit can be made in special circumstances. Staff may also ask to search a visitor's car, possessions or the visitor.
On occasions the prisons drug dog is used as an aid to detect drugs and other contraband being brought into the prison. All visitors are also required to produce proof of identity and may be required to undergo a search by an officer using a metal detector.
Background
Wanganui Prison has five separate complexes, Kaitoke, Whanui, Self Care, Te Moenga and Southwood which accommodate male inmates. The main Kaitoke complex was built in 1978.
Kaitoke houses administration, health, supervision, four units and an At Risk unit. Whanui, a stand alone 60 bed medium security prison opened in 1988, and in 1990, a high-medium security unit known as Te Moenga opened. Southwood, a stand alone 80 bed low medium/minimum security prison, opened in 1997 and not long after this a 20 bed minimum security Self Care unit opened in July 1998. The specialised 12 bed unit for offenders at risk of harming themselves opened in 2000.
The main institution holds a maximum of 190 inmates, plus 32 in Te Moenga, 60 in Whanui, 80 in Southwood and a further 20 in the Self Care Unit, totalling 382 male inmates.
New Plymouth, Wanganui, Manawatu and Hawke's Bay , prisons together form the Midland prison region.
Sentence management
The Department of Corrections provides a structured and integrated approach to offender management.
On arrival at prison, each inmate is assessed according to their risk of re-offending, the causes and influences of their offending behaviour, and their willingness to change. The assessment also looks at educational needs, health needs, special needs, and security risks.
A sentence plan is drawn up based on this assessment, focusing on giving the offender opportunities to break the cycle of re-offending. The plan may include programmes aimed at giving inmates the skills to deal with challenges they may face when they return to the community, such as budgeting, employment and relationships.
The process allows for the most appropriate form of intervention to be targeted to each offender. Interventions range from providing education and a career start for young offenders, to providing intensive programmes to those offenders motivated to address the causes of their offending.
Corrections has a strategy in place to minimise harm caused by drug use. The strategy aims to reduce the supply and demand of drugs in prison and the crime associated with it. To achieve the strategy, some of the methods used include visitor searches, vehicle checkpoints, use of drug dogs, a national 0800 JAILSAFE phone line, gathering crime related intelligence, liaison with the Police, and Alcohol and Drug inmate rehabilitation programmes.
All New Zealand prisons provide medical, dental, psychological and counselling services. Chaplains provide church services and Bible study groups.
Rehabilitation
A range of programmes has been developed either to improve motivation to change, address educative or employment needs or specifically address what drives an offender's offending behaviour.
The following programmes are offered at Wanganui Prison:
* Straight Thinking - designed to assist offenders to address one of the main causes of their offending - the lack of critical reasoning required to live effectively in society.
* National Certificate in Employment Skills (NCES) - designed to improve the basic literacy and numeracy levels of inmates.
* Adult Literacy.
* Substance Abuse programmes - designed to address an offenders' substance abuse when it is one of the main contributing causes of their offending.
* Violence Prevention - group-based treatment for violent offenders.
* Tikanga Maori - designed to address re-offending from a Maori philosophy, values, knowledge and practices perspective.
Wanganui Prison also offers programmes in anger management and cultural programmes including kapa haka, and mauranga tipua.
Returning to the community
The Department believes the successful reintegration of offenders into the community provides the best protection for society. The Department aims to provide offenders with the skills, knowledge and confidence to live successfully in the community in order to reduce their likelihood of re-offending, and a range of reintegrative services is available.
Reintegrative needs are assessed at the start of an offender's sentence, and reviewed throughout. There are seven reintegrative objectives that can be planned for. These are:
* finding a job
* finding somewhere to live
* budgeting effectively
* managing relationships
* developing positive community support
* preventing victim-related problems
* keeping healthy.
There are three levels of assistance, with all offenders receiving "level one" self-help. This includes contact details of organisations that can help them re-settle once they have left prison, and access via case officers to a knowledge base. Some offenders will require greater support from their case officer, and further referral can be made to other specialist staff (e.g. a social worker) or external agencies (e.g. NZPARS) who can provide more in depth support and advice.
For those who do not have the skills to live independently on release, a further level of support is available through reintegrative programmes and/or living in self-care units. These are scheduled for near the end of their period in prison. Three reintegrative programmes have been developed:
* Living Skills - a 36-hour broad-based programme to give offenders skills and knowledge across most reintegrative areas
* Budgeting Skills - a 10-hour group programme aimed at offenders with specific budgeting and money needs
* Parenting Skills - a 32-hour group programme designed to meet parenting skills needs.
While these programmes are not yet available at all prisons, it is anticipated they will be fully operational by 2004. All three programmes have been designed to meet the specific needs of Maori, Pacific Peoples, women and youth.
In addition to prison-based programmes, home leave, reintegration paroles and release to work are available prior to release. Planning for an inmate's reintegration begins as soon as they arrive in prison.
The prison works with a range of community providers including; Te Rapu Ora, Literacy Aotearoa, Aotea Associated Consultants, New Horizons and Pacific Island Advisors.
Employment
Inmates are employed in the following areas of work: joinery, carpentry, plumbing, painting, kitchen, laundry, gardens and grounds maintenance.
There is also the opportunity to work in the finger jointing factory, native plant nursery, engineering workshop, pre-casting concrete products or cleaning and maintenance.
Small clothing and screen printing workshops have also been set up. There is an increasing amount of work being done under contract such as scrub clearing, tree pruning, fencing and planting. This is seen as important as it is often the only type of work available to some inmates on release.
Inmates receive a small incentive for the work they do.
Eligible inmates can in their last 12 months of sentence undertake release to work. They benefit by gaining work skills and a wage. They pay "board" and taxes and often pay off any outstanding fines, or debts that were outstanding before coming to prison.
Inmates can register with "Fresh-start" who will assist to "broker" employment for inmates with participating employers in the community.
Education
Courses within the institution include Maori culture, communication skills, life skills, anger management, stress management, skills of enterprise, human relations and first aid.
The National Certificate in Employment Skills is available to inmates at Wanganui Prison. This is a pre-employment qualification which offers learning in a range of work related skills, including basic literacy and numeracy. NCES is recognised by many industry areas throughout New Zealand. The focus on improving the educational level of inmates to assist them in gaining future employment.
Special units
At Risk Unit
A specialised At Risk Unit accommodates inmates who have been identified as being at risk of self-harm.
Self-care accommodation
Wanganui Prison's self-care accommodation units enable selected long-term minimum-security inmates to re-establish basic living skills and individual responsibility that help them prepare for release back into the community.
Maori Focus Unit
The goal of the Maori Focus Unit is for inmates to leave with positive objectives and improved skills for the future which reduce the likelihood of their re-offending.
The kaupapa of the unit is to establish a culturally appropriate environment in which inmates can address issues relating to their offending. The key to this is establishing a tikanga Maori environment in which inmates can face the issues that led to their offending.
Through the practice of Maori values and disciplines, and the creation of Maori programmes, the unit aims to bring about positive changes in thinking and behaviour.
The unit also has a carving centre, where inmates develop carving skills and work individually or collectively on projects.
General information
Wanganui Prison
Private Bag 3000
WANGANUI
Wanganui Prison (06) 348 3560
Fax (06) 348 0951
Site Manager Tony Howe
Wanganui Prison is on Pauri Road, 10km south of Wanganui. The Prisoners' Aid and Rehabilitation Society, (06) 345-5969, provides transport for inmates' families during the week at a cost of $10 per round trip.
Visiting times
Classification
Day
Time
Te Moenga
Saturday/Sunday
9.30 - 10.30am
1.30 - 2.30pm
Thursday, Friday
12.30pm - 2.45pm
Witness Protection
Monday to Thursday
1.30 - 2.30pm
Whanui
Saturday and Sunday
1pm - 3.30pm
IDU Visits
Saturday
Morning
Self Care Unit
Saturday, Sunday
1pm - 3.30pm
Southwood
Saturday, Sunday
1pm - 3.30pm
IDU Visits
Saturday, Sunday
1pm - 3.30pm
Kaitoke Complex
Remand 2
Monday
1.30 - 3.30pm
IDU Visits
Monday
1.15 - 1.45pm
2pm - 2.30pm
Remand
Tuesday
2.30 - 3.30pm
B Seg Visits
Tuesday
1.15 - 2.15pm
Remand
Wednesday
2.30 - 3.30pm
IDU Visits
Wednesday
1.15 - 1.45pm
2pm - 2.30pm
A/C Seg Visits
Thursday
1.15 - 1.45pm
B Seg Visits
Thursday
1.15 - 2.15pm
Remand
Thursday
2.30 - 3.30pm
Remand
Friday
2.30 - 3.30pm
IDU Visits
Friday
1.15 - 1.14pm
2pm - 2.30pm
Sentenced
Saturday
1.15 - 2.15pm
2.30 - 3.30pm
Sentenced
Sunday
1.15 - 2.15pm
2.30 - 3.30pm
Please note: Visitors should ensure that they have a visit time booked with the prison and a letter from the prison confirming this visiting time. Visitors arriving at the prison will be asked by staff to produce their letter of approval, sent prior to the visit, and a form of indentification. Other arrangements to visit can be made in special circumstances. Staff may also ask to search a visitor's car, possessions or the visitor.
On occasions the prisons drug dog is used as an aid to detect drugs and other contraband being brought into the prison. All visitors are also required to produce proof of identity and may be required to undergo a search by an officer using a metal detector.