Department of Corrections update

All three prisons in the Canterbury region - Christchurch Men's, Christchurch Women's and Rolleston - are secure and there have been no reports of injury to prisoners. Some community probation service centres have been closed due to earthquake damage. The closed centres are at Armagh Street, Pages Road, Peterborough Street, Stanmore Street, Kingsley Street, and Winston Avenue.

The Department has begun making text and phone contact with all offenders serving sentences and orders in the community in the Christchurch area to confirm their safety and whereabouts. Offenders it has not contacted yet are urged to phone 0800 222 337. This line will be staffed between 7.30am and 7.30pm daily.

No one is required to report for community work this week (Feb 21-25). If you are serving community work and have not been contacted by us, please call the 0800 number above.

To help with the recovery effort in the region, prisoners are being transferred from Rolleston Prison to Christchurch Men's Prison so Rolleston Prison can be used to accommodate emergency service workers and volunteers. (Source: Department of Corrections website update).

© New Zealand Law Society 2008