Are rehabilitation programmes for prisoners working? Emma Russell meets former Whanganui prisoners to hear their stories.
AT the age of 17 James was facing his third prison sentence.
This time it was long-term and in his mind he had no future. He had given up.
But now the 33-year-old is back in the community, employed fulltime and owns two houses in Whanganui.
He said he was fortunate enough to get on the pre-release work scheme and turn his life around after that last 10-year stretch.
"Not all guys are so lucky."
Growing up, he said, violence was the answer to everything.
"It was all I knew. My family has all done jail and served long-sentences. My dad is still in jail and has disowned me."
James started his sentence in an Auckland juvenile prison. Seeking a fresh start and wanting to cut all ties with his family, he was later transferred to the Whanganui prison.
"For my first five years in prison I played up the whole time.
"It was survival and when you go to jail if you let it take you down it will. For the first five years I inflicted a lot of violence until I ended up in maximum security which was like a cell inside a cell."
James spent three years in maximum security and it was there that reality dawned.
"I began to think 'what am I doing here?' and I made the decision that I would get out and make something of myself."
For two years James worked with a violence prevention programme which he said changed his life.
He worked alongside 10 of New Zealand's most violent prisoners.
What they taught him and the reality of prison often didn't match.
"About three-quarters of what they taught me would have got me killed in prison but it did teach me to listen and not react.
"I had key goals. We came up with a plan if I was ever to get released, what did I want and what I wanted was employment.
"So I started working towards the pre-release programme," he said.
The issue of prison rehabilitation was highlighted last month by Whanganui MP, lawyer and former police officer Chester Borrows.
He said there is a need for better rehabilitation schemes rather than harsher punishments.
Statistics show New Zealand's justice system to be one of the most punitive in world and yet 44.2 per cent of New Zealand prisoners reoffend within 12 months of release.
For work based rehabilitation schemes to work, they need employers.
Peter Martin, owner of the Waverley Sawmills, has a contract with the Department of Corrections to provide work for prisoners on the pre-release scheme. Depending on their circumstance, most prisoners on the programme are given the opportunity to work fulltime after they are released.
Mr Martin currently has five ex-prisoners working fulltime and three on the pre-release scheme.
He said he has never had a problem because giving them a job gets them on track and focused.
"My observation is a job gives them stability, confidence, self-esteem and responsibility. The pre-release work scheme enables us to get to know them ... their personality and their skills."
An employee of Mr Martin, former pre-release worker Paul, spent 19 years behind bars in Whanganui Prison.
Four years ago he was released and immediately transitioned into fulltime employment at the Waverley Sawmills. He will be on parole for life but he's out in the community, renting a house in Whanganui and since his release has stayed out of trouble.
Paul said his job was his "life-saver" and he is unsure where he would be without it. For the last 11 months of Paul's sentence he was on the pre-release scheme working nearly every day at the sawmills.
His wages, paid directly into a trust account, covered his prison board and the remaining money stayed untouched until he was released.
Paul said he had $11,000 saved from wages when he left prison which enabled him to set up his rented house and turn his life around.
Now a qualified grader, Paul works as a packager and processor at the mill. His manager, Jamie Robertson, said very little supervision was required and he was a trusted employee who was supported by all the staff.
Paul works alongside Antz and Michael who also started on the pre-release scheme and are now in fulltime employment.
Forklift driver Antz is the most recent recruit who started working before Christmas. The 27-year-old said having a job has given him a sense of pride and made him feel "like a man again".
Antz was sentenced to five years imprisonment but after completing 18 months pre-release work he was able to get an early release.
Michael has been fully employed at the sawmills for the last three years after completing two years of pre-release work.
He left prison with $20,000 saved from wages which he used to buy a house in Patea but has since sold it to put towards savings.
"If I didn't have this job getting out of prison would have been pretty daunting. As soon as you have a criminal record you are lucky to get an interview.
"Peter has been very supportive to open his door and give me a fresh start," Michael said.
Prisoners being considered for pre-release work go through a vigorous approval process and there are no guarantees.
Department of Corrections chief custodial officer Neil Beales said prisoners are required to have completed any necessary programmes as required by the Parole Board.
"This can include drug and alcohol treatment, motivational programmes and offence-focused programmes.
"Many have taken part in education programmes on site and they are given a high level of trust which they work hard to get and the majority of them do not want to lose this privilege," Mr Beales said.
All prisoners going outside the wire are required to wear GPS-fitted bracelets unless they are accompanied by Corrections staff.
"The decision to grant a prisoner temporary release can only be made by the prison director with public safety being the most important consideration. This includes their behaviour while in custody, their risk to the public and the benefit of the temporary release."
Those who work with prisoners to help them have a sucessful life post sentence say it's tough getting help.
Chairwoman of Whanganui Restorative Justice Trust, Jenny Saywood, who previously worked for the Department of Corrections, said it is difficult for prisoners transitioning into the community and finding a place to live and a job.
"I think it is a community problem."
Ms Saywood is a part of newly formed group Safer Whanganui which is a collection of organisations including ACC, Civil Defence, Whanganui Hospital, Police and Whanganui Prison officers.
"It's about attitude. A lot of the time people don't understand or know what some prisoners have been through and if we are able to help people understand what goes on that fear will escape.
"The Government really needs to look at our justice system and think of clever ways that doesn't deal with putting people inside because that doesn't work and I think we could spend our money better."
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But there are success stories.
After James got the green light to start the pre-release work scheme he never looked back.
He too worked at the Waverley Sawmills for 18 months before he was released to be employed fulltime there.
He has since been promoted to treatment operator at Eastown Timber Processing Limited in Whanganui.
His boss James Richardson said he basically runs the yard and the place would fall to bits without him.
"The number one reason I took James on was the reference I received from his previous employer Peter," Mr Richardson said.
James said Mr Martin's support has gone a long way and he might not be here without him.
"If it wasn't for people like Peter Martin, there would be less opportunity for people to reintegrate back into the community and gain the work experience they need to survive."
•The average annual cost for a sentenced prisoner in New Zealand is $112,248.
•As of December 2016, there are 510 inmates at Whanganui Prison. That was split 399 sentenced prisoners and 111 remand prisoners.
•There are 9914 prisoners in New Zealand in total.
•The Department of Corrections said 42.7 per cent of inmates at the Whanganui Prison are reconvicted within 12 months of release. Of those reconvicted, 28.4 per cent are sent back to jail.