Northland's new Ngawha prison is full, two months ahead of schedule.
Inmate numbers at the facility have been building steadily since it opened in April and it was expected to be full by Christmas. But Corrections Department General Manager for Prisons Phil McCarthy says the Northland prison has reached its target of 350 inmates.
McCarthy says Corrections could fit another 100 prisoners into the prison by fitting some cells with bunks, but he hopes to avoid that.
Northland Kaumatua Mac Anania, who leads the Maori rehabilitation programme at Ngawha, is calling for a cap on prisoner numbers there.
Anania says extra prisoners would be disruptive and elders are
worried. He says many staff at the Northland prison are new to the
job and also need a chance to settle, before any more prisoners are
crammed in.
