Serco has agreed to pay $8 million to Corrections after the department stepped in last July to manage the Mt Eden Corrections facility.

The Government has charged Serco $8 million to cover the costs of resuming control of Mt Eden Corrections Facility last year.

When Papakura artist Jacquelyn Ritete surveys the 40 cells at Counties Manukau Police station in Wiri, she sees potential.

A prisoner behind an attack on a convicted murderer which left the victim with a broken arm and fractured skull says he is not sorry.

Up to 130 more prison cells could be "double-bunked" to cope with an unexpected blow-out in the prison population, Corrections chief Ray Smith says.

Incident report by Corrections on inmate's hospital visit flight sees minister face questions about staff fatigue.

Corrections Minister rejects claims of organised prison violence.

A prisoner was found unresponsive in his cell this morning while staff were conducting routine rounds.

Almost 7000 prohibited items have been seized from inmates at prisons in 2015.

Corrections Minister Judith Collins says she stands by tough bail reforms that have led to a bigger prison population and stretched the Corrections Department's budget.

An inmate at Christchurch Men's Prison has been stabbed in the head by a group of men.

Private prison operator's contract to run troubled corrections facility will not be renewed.

The release of a report into fighting at Mt Eden Prison is held up in court, thanks to a legal challenge by former prison manager, Serco.

A prison reform group, formerly headed by the late Sir Peter Williams, QC, has been renamed in his honour.

Corrections Minister Sam Lotu-Iiga has defended the past ranking of privately run Mt Eden Prison as the best in the country, saying it was based on its record at the time.

Reprimand after prison worker says he doesn't like term 'inmates'.

Serco has gone to the High Court to challenge a draft report by the prison inspectorate on claims about 'fight clubs' and contraband in Mt Eden Prison.

It's not often you'll see a lama wandering around the grounds of a prison.

Prime Minister John Key says he did not go too far by accusing the Labour Party of supporting rapists, child molesters and murderers.

Riot police have stormed the embattled Christmas Island detention centre, allegedly using gas canisters and rubber bullets to restore order.

Prime Minister John Key said it was likely New Zealanders were involved in the riots, but he did not have official confirmation of that. "My office has had an update...we're obviously aware of what's taking place there. It's a difficult situation to get all the facts on," he said. "My understanding is that there could be a small number of New Zealanders involved but we haven't been advised of any injuries to New Zealanders."

A violent prisoner with an "appalling record" has avoided an indefinite jail term after cutting his gang ties and vowing to have his facial tattoos removed.

A cross-party letter to the Australian PM condemning his country's treatment of Kiwis detained on Christmas Island is to be presented in Sydney today.

The Government has confirmed plans to urgently pass laws which will allow it to impose parole-like conditions on ex-criminals deported from overseas.

Among young offenders, the rate of reconviction within five years after release is 91 per cent, much of which happens within the first 12 to 24 months, writes Jarrod Gilbert.

Almost 100 offenders have been issued final warnings under the country's "three strikes" law, but no offender has reached a third qualifying offence.

Labour MP Kelvin Davis says the NZ detainees he met in Australia's Christmas Island detention centre told him they are so frustrated they are thinking of rioting.

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