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.

Rally organised after an inmate - who has been on hormone treatment to become a woman - was allegedly raped at the privately run prison.

A change to the rules which give media access to prison inmates is being considered.

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.

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".

A chain of shortcomings allowed Phillip John Smith to escape to Brazil - and an overhaul of systems and information sharing between governments is needed.

New Zealand will get more information on criminals being deported from Australia under an information-sharing arrangement just signed.

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.

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.

Two state jails have worse assault rates than the controversial privately-run Mt Eden prison.

I was in a little town in the South of Mexico a few years back when I inadvertently found the local prison.

An increasing number of at-risk prisoners are being put in segregation.

Corrections will apologise to Jade Follett following a revelation her transfer request went nowhere when a staff member went on leave.

Serco and other private companies have no place running New Zealand prisons, a majority of voters believe.

A serious assault at Mt Eden prison saw an inmate's arm broken at the elbow and spun like a windmill - a case which Serco failed to report.

It was announced today that the terms of reference and timeframe for the chief inspector of Corrections' investigation have been extended.