Six guards sacked for having sex with prisoners

File photo / New Zealand Herald

Six New Zealand prison officers have been sacked over the past five years after being caught having sexual relationships with prisoners.

After an Official Information Act request from The Press, the Department of Corrections revealed four prison officers were fired in the central region, and two from the southern region.

Two prison officers were also issued with final written warnings over the past five years for having a sexual relationship with prisoners, one in the central region and one in the southern region.

Department of Corrections general manager for human resources Vince Arbuckle said such relationships were rare as the environment was not one where those kind of relationships could flourish.

"It's at the serious end of the scale. It compromises someone's ability to operate independently.

"We have a code of conduct which all staff receive when they first join and it does talk about inappropriate relationships with offenders."

- NZPA