Private prison manager to be fined $150,000 per escape, death
The company taking over the management of Auckland Central Remand Prison at Mt Eden will lose $150,000 for each prisoner death and escape.
The private operator chosen by the government to run Auckland Central Remand Prison at Mt Eden will lose $150,000 for every prisoner escape or death, the prison contract reveals.
The government’s $300 million contract with multinational company Serco was tabled in Parliament yesterday.
Every escape or death will result in a $150,000 deduction, while Serco will also lose $100,000 every time it breaks the law and loses control of prisoners.
Performance notices will lose the company $50,000 and wrongful releases or detentions will cost it $25,000.
The Green Party has again criticised the government’s decision to hire a private prison operator, saying it will increase costs and reduce prisoner safety.
“Privatising Auckland remand prison is a dangerous precedent that will increase costs and compromise New Zealand's justice system," Green Party justice spokesman David Clendon said.
The party says overseas media reports have linked Serco-run prisons and immigration centres with violence, lack of adequate health care, and overcrowding, with recent reports revealed that a Serco-run prison has the worst record of self-harm in Scotland.
The party also says evidence from the US and Australia shows that private prisons do not reduce costs for the government, and research from New South Wales suggests that prisoner safety is compromised because of the focus on profit.
“The international evidence shows that the government needs to seriously reconsider its policy of getting private corporations to run our prisons,” Mr Clendon said.
“Private prisons have to make a profit, which means either cutbacks on staffing levels and rehabilitation, or charging more per prisoner, as we saw with the Auckland Remand Prison last time it was privately run.
“The community and public sector have lots of good innovative ideas about how the prison system can be improved. The government should listen to them rather than flogging off prison management to corporations.”
Niko Kloeten
Thu, 17 Mar 2011
Thu, 17 Mar 2011
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Private prison manager to be fined $150,000 per escape, death
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