KEY POINTS:
Prisoners will be able to earn more time out of their cells and greater work and study opportunities under a new privilege-based system being rolled out across the country.
However, if they misbehave, they will be penalised with increased restrictions.
Corrections Minister Damien O'Connor today said the new prisoner placement system would operate at Auckland Region Women's Corrections Facility.
The system was already being used at Otago Corrections Facility and would be used at Spring Hill Corrections Facility when it opens in November.
Prisoner placement would operate in conjunction with the new national security classification system introduced in April.
"Prisoners will be incentivised to take responsibility for their actions, and to both improve their behaviour and undertake meaningful activity to encourage rehabilitation, in a much more structured and rigorous way than previously," Mr O'Connor said.
"It's up to them."
Benefits prisoners could get would be more hours out of their cells, greater freedom of movement and flexible visits and they would get access to training, work opportunities and other programmes.
"But if they misbehave then they will be penalised by being subject to more restrictions. At its harshest, the most difficult prisoners will spend 23 hours a day locked in a cell."
Mr O'Connor said the placement system was possible because of the new dual risk classification system which graded prisoners by security risk.
In the past, Corrections had not been able to run a system like this in a systematic way.
"Previous systems have been tried but have not worked out for one reason or another. The Labour-led Government has carefully worked through all the legal and practical implications and this time the system has the support of frontline staff."
- NZPA
