Hawke's Bay to be home for 60 more prison inmates

Hawke's Bay prison is about to be home to 60 more inmates, making it the fourth-largest jail in the country.
A 40-bed unit opened last week and another 20-bed block of self-care units is to open at the end of June, bringing the muster to 628 - more than double the prison's original muster when it was opened in 1989.
Nationwide, 670 more prison beds will be available by October and 1400 by the end of 2007.
These will come from new prisons at Ngawha in Northland, a women's prison in Auckland, other prisons at Otago and Spring Hill near Te Kauwhata, Waikato.
The rush of building is to cope with a increased prisoner numbers caused by longer sentences and tougher bail and parole laws.
At the Hawke's Bay prison, south-west of Hastings, a new administration centre, health centre and visitor centre will be in use by the end of the year.
The administration building will be outside the prison fence which means staff there will not have to go into the prison at all.
Also planned is a special unit with 24-hour camera surveillance for inmates at risk of self-harm.
The construction of the visitors' centre means those visiting inmates will no longer go to the individual units but will see them in one area, improving security.
Work on the new buildings is expected to begin at the end of this month, with 30 extra staff, including prison officers and administrators, employed to run the new units. The prison will have a total staff of 276 to manage the 628 inmates.
Corrections Association representative Nigel Petrie said staff were happy with the expansion because it meant more jobs.
The rising prison population had forced double-bunking of inmates at the prison for a while last year but that stopped when an agreement with prison officers ended on December 31.
Another change at the prison will be the return of former manager Peter Grant to his old job on July 1.
Mr Grant began work at the prison in 1994 when it had been plagued by escapes, low staff morale and charges of staff mistreating inmates.
He left to work in Australia when his five-year contract ended, returning to New Zealand about two years later to become Midland region manager in Wanganui.