Fri 21 Oct 2016 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
Corrections has launched a major recruitment campaign to coincide with an increase in the prison population, and is seeking interest from the LGBTI community to fill some of these roles. Auckland South Corrections Facility This week, the Government launched a billion dollar plan to create another 1800 beds across Prisons around New Zealand. The move has been criticised by Labour who say there needs to be a reduction in reoffending, something the Government said they planned to do, by 25 percent, before mid-2017. Corrections says it needs to employ close to 600 new officers in the next year, including officers for Mt Eden Prison, which it took back from Serco in July. In a statement provided by Corrections, openly gay Corrections Officer Jason Dinnington-Curle says “I’m proud to be a gay Corrections Officer, always have and always will be.” Dinnington-Curle works at Spring Hill Corrections Facility and has been in his role for ten years. “From day one I have always said to myself “ just be yourself “ and that’s what I have always done,” he says. “I am openly gay with staff and prisoners alike. In the early years I had a number of issues from staff, which was sad in a lot of ways, yet the prisoners were more accepting. Over time and with changes in staff thinking, it is a lot easier to be myself. I took the stance that if people had issues, they were their issues not mine.” Controversy has surrounded Corrections in previous years following allegations made by transgender inmates who say they were sexually assaulted while incarcerated. The inclusion of Corrections in the Auckland Pride Parade has also been a hotly contested issue and one which continued to be a prominent discussion point at a community forum in June. This year, the department was allowed to walk in the parade in uniform representing Corrections. The inclusion of staff members sparked a protest by No Pride in Prisons who are vocal in their distrust of Corrections. All new Corrections employees will undergo an extensive 16 week training programme consisting of both workplace and classroom based learning.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 21st October 2016 - 2:44pm