Kyla
09-22-2004, 03:44 AM
Arohata Women's Prison
Background
Arohata is a women's prison able to accommodate up to 168 remand and sentenced inmates of minimum, low-medium and high-medium security classifications.
Arohata was built in 1944 as a women's borstal. In 1981 it changed functions to become a youth prison, and later a women's prison that contained the national female facility for drug rehabilitation. Between April 1992 and May 1994, 40 minimum-security male inmates were also kept at Arohata.
In Maori, Arohata means "the bridge". The name was chosen in the hope Arohata would provide a bridge between past offending and a future life in the community.
Arohata, Wellington and Rimutaka Prisons together form the Wellington prison region.
Sentence management
The Department of Corrections provides a structured and integrated approach to managing offenders.
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 Arohata Women's 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
* Substance Abuse programmes - designed to address an offender's substance abuse when it is one of the main contributing causes of their offending
* Violence Prevention - group-based programme for violent offenders
* Strengthening Women - family values-based course for women who have been abused, and to help prevent abuse of their own children
* Personal counselling
* Maori culture-based programmes - a number of programmes, aiming to create a change in offenders' lifestyles in and after prison by discovering and recovering traditional Maori principles, values and disciplines, are available at the prison
* Te Reo programmes - learning Maori language
A separate fact sheet on programmes for offenders is available.
Self care units have been set up to teach inmates independent living skills. In addition to the reintegrative focus in the unit, a special version of the living skills programme has been designed (see also the section on Special Units, below) .
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.
Employment
Sentenced inmates at Arohata can participate in the prison's commercial sewing and laundry operations, as well as helping with cooking and gardening activities. Some inmates are granted special permission to work in the community during the daytime (Release To Work). Inmates receive a small incentive for the work they do.
The National Certificate in Employment Skills (NCES) is available to Arohata inmates. This is a pre-employment qualification which offers learning in a range of work related skills, including basic literacy and numeracy. The focus is on improving the educational level of inmates to assist them in gaining future employment.NCES is recognised by many industry areas throughout New Zealand.
NZ Qualifications Authority (NZQA) industry unit standards are available to suitable inmates. A unit standard is the written description of a workplace task. It gives the knowledge, skill and competence to be acquired by a learner, and the performance criteria against which the learner will be assessed. People studying towards unit standards are required to pass numerous written and practical tests in order to obtain their industry qualifications.
Education
Arohata inmates may enrol in any subject or education programme they consider themselves capable of achieving. Computer and hobby classes are available at the prison, and in special circumstances, inmates may be granted education parole to study outside the prison.
Assistance is provided to help inmates achieve basic literacy and numeracy skills. Inmates are also provided with support to complete distance education programmes. (See also the section on Employment, above.)
Special units
Drug Treatment Unit
Arohata operates the national women's prisons Drug Treatment Unit in Te Araroa Wing. The wing has 20 beds and is semi-detached from the rest of the prison. The programme and unit is run in partnership with the National Society on Alcoholism and Drug Dependency Care Limited (NSAD Care). It is a four to nine-month full-time programme and participants graduate through four phases, all designed to address alcohol and drug addictions, addictive behaviours and related offending patterns.
Self-Care Units
The prison has special accommodation for use by approved inmates in the months prior to their release, in order to help them re-adapt to community living.
For the final few months of their sentence, approved minimum-security inmates stay in the prison's self-care units. These inmates live in a flatting-style arrangement, learning or re-learning to do their own cooking, laundry and cleaning. Inmates budget for their groceries, and buy them on a weekly trip to the supermarket, escorted by a Corrections Officer.
The self-care facilities comprise four housing units, each accommodating up to four inmates. There is also a community house for group activities and visitors. The self-care units are separate from the main prison buildings, with their own perimeter fence which is locked overnight.
Other activities
A range of recreation activities are provided. Arohata also has a weekly Quilters Group, which meets on Saturday mornings to do quilting. An inmate library is also very well used. Exercise programmes are available to medium-security inmates.
Future plans
A new visiting facility at the prison is currently being planned. The facility will include improved areas for family visits and a facility for inmate mothers to breastfeed and bond with their babies; it is expected to open in late 2003.
Depending on the evaluation of the effectiveness of current Maori Focus and Youth Units operating for male inmates, consideration will also be given to introducing these special focus units at Arohata.
General information
Arohata Women's Prison
Private Bag 51-901
Tawa
Telephone (04) 232 0810
Fax (04) 232 8669
Site Manager Janey Bowen
Arohata is located on 1 Main Road, Tawa, 13km north of Wellington.
Visiting times
Classification
Day
Time
Remand
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
12.30pm - 2.45pm
Thursday, Friday
12.30pm - 2.45pm
Med Security
Sunday
12.30pm - 3.00pm
Min Security
Saturday and Sunday
12.30pm - 3.00pm
Please note: All visitors must be pre-approved. Before travelling to the prison, visitors should ensure that they have a visit time booked with the prison and a letter from the prison confirming this visiting time. Visitors will be asked by prison staff to produce their letter of approval and a form of indentification. Other visiting arrangements 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 required to produce proof of identity and may be required to undergo a search by an officer using a metal detector.
Background
Arohata is a women's prison able to accommodate up to 168 remand and sentenced inmates of minimum, low-medium and high-medium security classifications.
Arohata was built in 1944 as a women's borstal. In 1981 it changed functions to become a youth prison, and later a women's prison that contained the national female facility for drug rehabilitation. Between April 1992 and May 1994, 40 minimum-security male inmates were also kept at Arohata.
In Maori, Arohata means "the bridge". The name was chosen in the hope Arohata would provide a bridge between past offending and a future life in the community.
Arohata, Wellington and Rimutaka Prisons together form the Wellington prison region.
Sentence management
The Department of Corrections provides a structured and integrated approach to managing offenders.
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 Arohata Women's 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
* Substance Abuse programmes - designed to address an offender's substance abuse when it is one of the main contributing causes of their offending
* Violence Prevention - group-based programme for violent offenders
* Strengthening Women - family values-based course for women who have been abused, and to help prevent abuse of their own children
* Personal counselling
* Maori culture-based programmes - a number of programmes, aiming to create a change in offenders' lifestyles in and after prison by discovering and recovering traditional Maori principles, values and disciplines, are available at the prison
* Te Reo programmes - learning Maori language
A separate fact sheet on programmes for offenders is available.
Self care units have been set up to teach inmates independent living skills. In addition to the reintegrative focus in the unit, a special version of the living skills programme has been designed (see also the section on Special Units, below) .
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.
Employment
Sentenced inmates at Arohata can participate in the prison's commercial sewing and laundry operations, as well as helping with cooking and gardening activities. Some inmates are granted special permission to work in the community during the daytime (Release To Work). Inmates receive a small incentive for the work they do.
The National Certificate in Employment Skills (NCES) is available to Arohata inmates. This is a pre-employment qualification which offers learning in a range of work related skills, including basic literacy and numeracy. The focus is on improving the educational level of inmates to assist them in gaining future employment.NCES is recognised by many industry areas throughout New Zealand.
NZ Qualifications Authority (NZQA) industry unit standards are available to suitable inmates. A unit standard is the written description of a workplace task. It gives the knowledge, skill and competence to be acquired by a learner, and the performance criteria against which the learner will be assessed. People studying towards unit standards are required to pass numerous written and practical tests in order to obtain their industry qualifications.
Education
Arohata inmates may enrol in any subject or education programme they consider themselves capable of achieving. Computer and hobby classes are available at the prison, and in special circumstances, inmates may be granted education parole to study outside the prison.
Assistance is provided to help inmates achieve basic literacy and numeracy skills. Inmates are also provided with support to complete distance education programmes. (See also the section on Employment, above.)
Special units
Drug Treatment Unit
Arohata operates the national women's prisons Drug Treatment Unit in Te Araroa Wing. The wing has 20 beds and is semi-detached from the rest of the prison. The programme and unit is run in partnership with the National Society on Alcoholism and Drug Dependency Care Limited (NSAD Care). It is a four to nine-month full-time programme and participants graduate through four phases, all designed to address alcohol and drug addictions, addictive behaviours and related offending patterns.
Self-Care Units
The prison has special accommodation for use by approved inmates in the months prior to their release, in order to help them re-adapt to community living.
For the final few months of their sentence, approved minimum-security inmates stay in the prison's self-care units. These inmates live in a flatting-style arrangement, learning or re-learning to do their own cooking, laundry and cleaning. Inmates budget for their groceries, and buy them on a weekly trip to the supermarket, escorted by a Corrections Officer.
The self-care facilities comprise four housing units, each accommodating up to four inmates. There is also a community house for group activities and visitors. The self-care units are separate from the main prison buildings, with their own perimeter fence which is locked overnight.
Other activities
A range of recreation activities are provided. Arohata also has a weekly Quilters Group, which meets on Saturday mornings to do quilting. An inmate library is also very well used. Exercise programmes are available to medium-security inmates.
Future plans
A new visiting facility at the prison is currently being planned. The facility will include improved areas for family visits and a facility for inmate mothers to breastfeed and bond with their babies; it is expected to open in late 2003.
Depending on the evaluation of the effectiveness of current Maori Focus and Youth Units operating for male inmates, consideration will also be given to introducing these special focus units at Arohata.
General information
Arohata Women's Prison
Private Bag 51-901
Tawa
Telephone (04) 232 0810
Fax (04) 232 8669
Site Manager Janey Bowen
Arohata is located on 1 Main Road, Tawa, 13km north of Wellington.
Visiting times
Classification
Day
Time
Remand
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
12.30pm - 2.45pm
Thursday, Friday
12.30pm - 2.45pm
Med Security
Sunday
12.30pm - 3.00pm
Min Security
Saturday and Sunday
12.30pm - 3.00pm
Please note: All visitors must be pre-approved. Before travelling to the prison, visitors should ensure that they have a visit time booked with the prison and a letter from the prison confirming this visiting time. Visitors will be asked by prison staff to produce their letter of approval and a form of indentification. Other visiting arrangements 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 required to produce proof of identity and may be required to undergo a search by an officer using a metal detector.