Submission on Corrections (Management of Prisoners, and Prisoners’ Property) Amendment Bill
The Chief Ombudsman John Allen appeared before Parliament’s Justice Committee last week to discuss his submission on the Corrections (Management of Prisoners, and Prisoners’ Property) Amendment Bill.
The Bill aims, in part, to address recommendations made by the former Chief Ombudsman Sir Peter Boshier in his 2024 report into the Prisoners of Extreme Risk Unit (PERU) in Auckland, where Sir Peter called for improvements to the standard of treatment.
While some of the changes are positive, the Bill introduces measures that fall short of international standards of treatment and risks embedding overly restrictive practices as a routine prison management tool.
Mr Allen has urged the Committee to closely scrutinise and strengthen the Bill’s safeguards to ensure prisoners are treated fairly and proportionately.