Rimutaka Prison inspection report 2019

The Office of the Inspectorate Te Tari Tirohia is a critical part of the independent oversight of the Corrections system and operates under the Corrections Act 2004 and the Corrections Regulations 2005. The Inspectorate, while part of the Department of Corrections, is operationally independent, which is necessary to ensure objectivity and integrity.

This report follows an unannounced follow-up inspection at Rimutaka Prison. It was the Inspectorate’s third unannounced inspection, after a programme of scheduled inspections of all 18 New Zealand prisons that began in March 2017. The inspection reports contain findings rather than recommendations. This means that concerns are identified, and the onus is on the Department and the prison to come up with solutions.

The inspection process provides an ongoing invaluable insight into prisons and provides assurance that shortcomings are identified and addressed in a timely way, and examples of good practice are shared across the prison estate. As the Inspectorate has added health expertise to its team of inspectors, inspections now have a strong clinical focus.

Our unannounced inspection took place in October 2019 and focused on areas identified in the initial inspection that required improvement, as well as considering areas covered by new Inspection Standards.