Kyla
09-22-2004, 02:50 AM
Invercargill Prison
Background
Invercargill Prison was built in 1910 and was a borstal for most of its history. It became a youth prison when borstal training was abolished in 1981, and then housed the South Island Corrective Training Unit from 1982 to mid-1987. Since 1985 it has held local male remand and sentenced inmates, youth from the South Island requiring secure conditions and short-term inmates from Dunedin Prison.
The prison generally holds up to 172 minimum or low-medium security male inmates. It has three units, South Unit (which houses segregated inmates), Centre Unit (which houses inmates for programmes and/or work-related skills), and the North Unit (which houses remand and assessment units).
Christchurch (formerly Paparua), Christchurch Women's, Rolleston, Dunedin and Invercargill prisons together form the South Island 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 Invercargill 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.
* Violence Prevention - group-based treatment for violent offenders.
* Tikanga Maori - designed to address re-offending from a Maori philosophy, values, knowledge and practices perspective.
Invercargill Prison has a number of other constructive activities for inmates including kapa haka, Te Reo classes, carving and creative art.
Employment
Invercargill Prison runs a small sewing and tailoring operation, forestry gangs, and a joinery workshop that makes furniture. Inmates may be employed to service the prison's kitchen, cleaning and laundry. All inmates are trained in their area of work so they have a better chance of obtaining employment when released.
Suitable inmates participate in the Release to Work Programme. This programme is designed for inmates serving their last months in prison, who are released to work during the day in ordinary jobs in the community.
Education
A full-time education coordinator is available. The prison tries to meet all educational needs through the NCES Programme short courses, correspondence work and one-to-one teaching.
The National Certificate in Employment Skills is available to inmates at Invercargill 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 is on improving the educational level of inmates to assist them in gaining future employment.
Drug and Alcohol group workshops and one to one counselling are offered to offenders, with many being referred to the Kowhai Unit at Christchurch Prison. If the need is identified, some inmates are also referred to the Violence Prevention Unit at Rimutaka Prison. Stop violence and anger management programmes are run by two outside providers in the Prison. Inmates may also be paroled to attend classes at educational institutions.
The local polytechnic provides tutors to teach Tikanga Maori. The Mita Mohi Mau Rakau programme is also run at this prison.
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 back into society 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 referrals can be made to other specialist staff (such as a social worker) or external agencies (eg. NZ PARS) 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 sentence 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.
General information
Invercargill Prison Telephone (03) 215 0400
P O Box 827 Fax (03) 214 2559
INVERCARGILL
The Site Manager is Geoff Mills.
The prison is in Liffey Street, which is in the main shopping area of Invercargill.
Visiting times
Classification
Day
Time
Remand
Monday to Friday, except Wednesday
1.30pm - 3.00pm
Centre Unit
Sunday
1.30pm - 3.30pm
South Unit
Sunday
9.30am - 11.00am
North Unit
Sunday
1.30pm - 3.30pm
Please note: Visitors should ensure 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 identification. 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 a Public Prisons Service 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 a Corrections Officer using a metal detector
Background
Invercargill Prison was built in 1910 and was a borstal for most of its history. It became a youth prison when borstal training was abolished in 1981, and then housed the South Island Corrective Training Unit from 1982 to mid-1987. Since 1985 it has held local male remand and sentenced inmates, youth from the South Island requiring secure conditions and short-term inmates from Dunedin Prison.
The prison generally holds up to 172 minimum or low-medium security male inmates. It has three units, South Unit (which houses segregated inmates), Centre Unit (which houses inmates for programmes and/or work-related skills), and the North Unit (which houses remand and assessment units).
Christchurch (formerly Paparua), Christchurch Women's, Rolleston, Dunedin and Invercargill prisons together form the South Island 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 Invercargill 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.
* Violence Prevention - group-based treatment for violent offenders.
* Tikanga Maori - designed to address re-offending from a Maori philosophy, values, knowledge and practices perspective.
Invercargill Prison has a number of other constructive activities for inmates including kapa haka, Te Reo classes, carving and creative art.
Employment
Invercargill Prison runs a small sewing and tailoring operation, forestry gangs, and a joinery workshop that makes furniture. Inmates may be employed to service the prison's kitchen, cleaning and laundry. All inmates are trained in their area of work so they have a better chance of obtaining employment when released.
Suitable inmates participate in the Release to Work Programme. This programme is designed for inmates serving their last months in prison, who are released to work during the day in ordinary jobs in the community.
Education
A full-time education coordinator is available. The prison tries to meet all educational needs through the NCES Programme short courses, correspondence work and one-to-one teaching.
The National Certificate in Employment Skills is available to inmates at Invercargill 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 is on improving the educational level of inmates to assist them in gaining future employment.
Drug and Alcohol group workshops and one to one counselling are offered to offenders, with many being referred to the Kowhai Unit at Christchurch Prison. If the need is identified, some inmates are also referred to the Violence Prevention Unit at Rimutaka Prison. Stop violence and anger management programmes are run by two outside providers in the Prison. Inmates may also be paroled to attend classes at educational institutions.
The local polytechnic provides tutors to teach Tikanga Maori. The Mita Mohi Mau Rakau programme is also run at this prison.
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 back into society 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 referrals can be made to other specialist staff (such as a social worker) or external agencies (eg. NZ PARS) 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 sentence 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.
General information
Invercargill Prison Telephone (03) 215 0400
P O Box 827 Fax (03) 214 2559
INVERCARGILL
The Site Manager is Geoff Mills.
The prison is in Liffey Street, which is in the main shopping area of Invercargill.
Visiting times
Classification
Day
Time
Remand
Monday to Friday, except Wednesday
1.30pm - 3.00pm
Centre Unit
Sunday
1.30pm - 3.30pm
South Unit
Sunday
9.30am - 11.00am
North Unit
Sunday
1.30pm - 3.30pm
Please note: Visitors should ensure 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 identification. 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 a Public Prisons Service 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 a Corrections Officer using a metal detector