Prisoners at two New Zealand jails are getting "in-house" tattoo removal sessions - as long as they pay out of their own pockets.

A Facebook page where prison inmates are able to advertise for female penpals has been blasted by victim advocates who say it's creepy and and "like Tinder" for inmates.

An inmate with more than 100 convictions was taken to North Shore Hospital after allegedly hiding drugs and a mobile phone in his rectum.

Miriama Kamo learned before she was 10 years old that prisoners were "just people who have made mistakes".

Labour and the Greens are backing National's plan to get all prisoners working or studying fulltime within three years.

A prison inspector has rebuked jailers for advising inmates to relieve themselves on vehicle floors.

A Hamilton woman's attempt to help out a prisoner in need of new underpants failed after authorities rejected the garments because of their colour scheme.

Prisoners at Auckland's new $300 million private men's jail could be building or fixing metal skip bins.

A 29-year-old inmate is in a stable condition after a stabbing at Spring Hill Prison.

An Aucklander has concealed 232 convictions from potential employers under legislation that lets Kiwis hide their criminal history if they've had a clean record for seven years.

A decision to name New Zealand's biggest new private prison a place to "move out of the mist" is being called "potty" by justice campaigners.

Works by 12 prisoners are on show in Wanganui's Davis Central City Library this month, in an exhibition themed Aotearoa - Our Land, Our People.

A Victorian prisoner mistakenly released from jail was free for six months before he was arrested and returned to custody.

'Help, help, help', started the note found by a shopper buying boots from a New York department store, from a man claiming to be held in a Chinese prison factory.

Criminals are being given free mobile phones in a bid to stop them reoffending when they get out of jail, in a pilot scheme at the privately-run Mt Eden Correctional Facility in Auckland.

Female inmates will be cooking food and serving staff at New Zealand's busiest court in a plan being worked on by justice and prison bosses.

As the Government shuts some of our publicly-run prisons, we investigate whether private prisons are the principled answer to justice.

A Japanese court has decided to release a man who was sentenced to death in 1980 in a high-profile murder case based on new DNA evidence.

As the Crown's balance sheet approaches a quarter of a trillion dollars, managing those assets and the risks is becoming more important, says the Treasury.

About 600 construction workers are on the 17ha site of New Zealand's biggest new prison and the country's largest public-private partnership, which is recruiting staff now.

The secret prison within a prison at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre that houses several alleged terrorists - is falling apart.

The shortage of traditional death drugs isn't necessarily great news for anyone on death row, writes Jack Tame.