KEY POINTS:
Police will investigate corruption allegations against two Rimutaka Prison staff members, but there is no evidence of systemic corruption at the prison, a report says.
Claims of bullying, harassment, assaults on staff members and endemic smuggling of contraband prompted Corrections to bring in an independent investigator, Wellington barrister David Patten, to conduct an inquiry.
Mr Patten found no substance to claims of systemic corruption at the prison, near Wellington.
However, several former officers who had made allegations - including Ingrid and Mark Rijniers, who in December 2006 told the Herald gangs controlled the prison and that inmates compiled shopping lists of contraband for guards to smuggle in - refused to co-operate with Mr Patten.
The lawyer pressed ahead with the investigation and spoke to 70 people.
"I am completely satisfied that we have received sufficient information for us to reach the decisions that we did," Mr Patten said.
Neither Corrections nor Mr Patten would comment on the case police were investigating, or an ongoing employment investigation into an officer who is currently suspended from duty.
Mr Patten said just because instances of possible corruption had been found at Rimutaka and were now being investigated by the police, it did not mean the prison itself was corrupt.
While a number of sensational allegations had been made, there was not sufficient evidence to substantiate those claims, Mr Patten said.
Many of those who had made the allegations had not co-operated with the investigation, which Mr Patten said was disappointing and also put into question the validity of their claims.
Corrections chief executive Barry Matthews said he was happy that Mr Patten's inquiry had portrayed the true position at the prison.
He conceded there had been a malign culture at the prison for some time, but credited an improvement programme set up in October 2006 with turning Rimutaka around.
This included managers and supervisors going on leadership courses, some being sent to other prisons and also more experienced managers from other prisons coming to assist at Rimutaka.
The report cost around $250,000 and took more than a year to produce.
Corrections Minister Phil Goff said New Zealanders should be reassured by the report's finding that there was no systemic corruption.
New initiatives in the Corrections bill before Parliament would ensure any claims of corrupt behaviour were fully investigated, he said.
However, National's Corrections spokesman Simon Power said: "Corrections has been admitting for some time now that there was a culture of corruption at the prison. They asked for the inquiry so they must have believed it existed.
"It's rather disingenuous of them now to be now pretending that Rimutaka now has a clean bill of health."
New Zealand First law and order spokesman Ron Mark said the report had exposed glaring faults in prison management."
THE REPORT
* No evidence of systemic corruption at Rimutaka Prison.
* Because of the culture that had existed at the prison, allegations of corrupt activity by some staff members were being investigated by Corrections and/or Police.
* Corruption allegations by former and current prisoners cannot be supported because of lack of evidence.
* Corruption allegations reported in the media cannot be supported because of lack of evidence.
* The prison had lacked skilled management, but Corrections had made a number of changes to improve that.
