The Government has announced that it will be taking control of Mt Eden Prison, after loosing faith in its private security contractor Serco. The Corrections Department will be taking over the prisons day-to-day operations after a series of incidents captured NZ media for all the wrong reasons.
The media content captured (which was shared online) sparked several complaints which were based upon a lack of authority executed by Serco guards leading to the internal organising of fights, attainment of contraband and the recent horrific death of an inmate.
Department of Corrections chief executive Ray Smith believed that the current methods were not, “getting answers fast enough”. As Serco’s questionable security measures were starting to pose a threat to the safety of staff and the inmates. Smith commented how the department would retain original Serco’s staff, yet he was quick to point out that there would be an appointment of a prison director to oversee the running of the prison. The duration of the prison directors contract would be on a temporary basis with Smith believing that the major issues at Mt Eden Prison could be fixed.
