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The manager of Rimutaka Prison is having a relationship with the jail's crime prevention manager which is deterring prison staff from exposing their allegedly corrupt colleagues, prison officers say.
The relationship is between the acting prison manager, Chris Smith, and the prison's crime prevention manager Rachel Sayers. The couple declined to comment.
Four Rimutaka Corrections officers, who between them have worked at the prison for 37 years, told the Herald they feel uncomfortable bringing information to Ms Sayers because of the relationship.
The officers, who did not want to be identified for fear of reprisals, had little faith in the prison management. "[Ms Sayers] is someone you are supposed to be able to report to in confidence and in secrecy," said one officer.
Current and former staff have criticised the management for failing to adequately act in the face of corruption allegations.
"Management were fully aware of at least anecdotal evidence. At best it was wilful blindness, at worst highly improper," said Fionnuala Kelly, a former human resources adviser at Rimutaka who is now taking legal action against the department.
"The prison culture of fear and distrust and suspicion prohibited these things from coming to the light of day."
General manager of the public prisons service, Harry Hawthorn, said there was no evidence to suggest that staff would not approach Ms Sayers because of the relationship.
"This is a long-standing relationship which is well-known within the prison and to prison and regional management."
Corrections chief executive Barry Matthews said the department had not investigated the relationship.
But he said any issues raised with the independent inquiry under way, including a potential conflict of interest, would be taken seriously.
According to the State Services Commission code of conduct, public servants should avoid conflicts of interest, or perceived conflicts of interest, that "compromise the performance of their duties".
Meanwhile, the Rimutaka officers conceded there were corruption problems, but felt their colleagues had been unfairly tainted because of the small percentage of corrupt staff.
They said former prison officer Ingrid Rijniers exaggerated claims that gangs were in control, and pointed out that her husband, Mark, had a good experience at Rimutaka before he resigned.
The inquiry into Rimutaka is looking into 15 to 20 prison officers for illegally smuggling contraband into the prison.
Two prison officers at Christchurch Men's Prison have been suspended on suspicion of smuggling contraband including tobacco and cellphones. One is understood to be a female prison officer who tried to expose a colleague she believed was smuggling contraband to prisoners. She was reportedly suspended after giving cigarettes to her informant, a prisoner.
The other suspended officer is believed to be the colleague she had made allegations against.
Political pressure on the department remained intense, with New Zealand First corrections spokesman Ron Mark meeting this week with Mr Matthews and Corrections Minister Damien O'Connor.
"New Zealand First has received allegations about senior management at Rimutaka, and have taken the matter to the Government," Mr Mark said.
"Fundamental changes to security need to occur, and one of them must be that every person that enters a corrections facility should be searched, and that would most logically happen at a single point of entry."
