Dunedin's Methodist Mission has begun a literacy and numeracy programme at the Otago Corrections Facility.

A dismissed addiction counsellor says her case has exposed unsafe understaffing at the prison unit where she worked.

Firefighters have been called to a fire at Spring Hill Prison in the Waikato.

Heather du Plessis-Allan writes a letter to Malcolm Turnbull on her views of Kiwis criminals in Australia being deported to detention centres.

Turnbull's and Key's burning issue on their agenda is the detention and deportation of non-Australian citizens who have been convicted of crime.

Funding will be needed to help criminals settle in New Zealand after they are deported from Australia, Prime Minister John Key says.

An organisation that helps former prisoners reintegrate into society says it is buckling under the strain of helping deportees from Australia.

A $60,000 stash of drugs, tobacco, and cellphones that police say was destined to be smuggled into a Christchurch prison has been intercepted by authorities.

The alleged rape of a transgender inmate has Corrections signaling a possible change to the way the prison system deals with those identifying as a different gender.

The rocker's appeal for a lighter sentence has been dismissed by the High Court.

A prisoner has died after a day on life support following a self-harm incident in Mt Eden prison, the Herald has learned.

Council takes leap of faith to give another chance to Black Power member who was jailed for assault and grievous bodily harm.

The transgender community says the inmate is not getting enough support and needs better protection.

Labour says private prison company Serco must be booted out after an alleged rape in a jail.

A police investigation has begun into claims that a prisoner was raped while locked in overnight at a privately run men's prison in South Auckland.

Despite money not growing on trees, gardening seems to be the most popular way for NZ's white collar criminals to while away the hours behind bars.

The sister of the man murdered by Phillip Smith says nobody has been properly held to account for his escape, and politicians were "all ducking their heads".

There are close to 200 New Zealanders in Australian immigration detention centres. 406 have had their visas cancelled and 95 have already been sent home this year, writes Brian Rudman.

The Australian Government made non-citizens who had served more than a year in prison liable for deportation.

Greens parties in Australia and New Zealand are jointly calling on the Australian Government to stop the indiscriminate deportation of New Zealand offenders from Australia.

The incident occurred at Manawatu Prison. Two other staff were injured while disarming the prisoner.

A senior Corrections staffer has been sacked after allegedly having sex with a colleague on duty in an Auckland prison high security area.

An inmate found dead at Paremoremo prison has been checked by Corrections staff hourly.

A prisoner serving a life sentence for murdering a man at a party 12 years ago will be released on parole later this month.

At least 20 people are behind bars after being wrongfully convicted of serious crimes and an independent body is needed to investigate such cases, politicians have been told.

Serco has been forgiven $620,000 of financial penalties after being issued performance notices by the Corrections Department.

In total the private prisoner operator will be at least $1,090,000 out of pocket, TV3 reported.

Inmates at Rolleston Prison have been showing their softer side, knitting blankets for abandoned and homeless animals rescued by the SPCA.

New Corrections figures show the controversial Mt Eden prison doesn't have the worst assault rate among inmates - but the union representing prison guards at state-run jails has cast doubt on the numbers.