New Zealand

Corrections History

Before 1880, New Zealand's prisons were ineptly and often corruptly administered by local authorities, but in 1880 the system started to become centralized, and Captain Arthur Hume, an English prison deputy governor, was appointed as the country's first Inspector General of Prisons. Hume created a harsh regime similar to that of Victorian Britain, and he instituted an ambitious prison building program. The most enduring legacy of this program is Mt. Eden Prison, a radial-style institution designed in 1882 from plans shipped out from London. Mt. Eden still operates today and is one of the country's oldest surviving prisons (see Figure 1).

New Zealand has a long history of liberalism in corrections. Although Hume himself was an authoritarian, in 1886 New Zealand developed the world's first national probation system. After Hume's retirement in 1909, reflecting the country's growing reliance on farm exports, a vigorous agricultural program was pursued. Between 1910 and 1922, tens of thousands of acres of rural land were purchased and turned into prison farms or forests. Many of these enterprises still operate today. After 1909, security was deemphasized. By 1913, the issuing of firearms to guards had ceased at most prisons, and distinctive arrow markings had been removed from prisoners' clothing. Between 1910 and 1923, the percentage of inmates employed in outside work schemes grew from 8% to 70%. Segregation of young offenders began in 1910, and a system of juvenile reformatories, known as “Borstals” after their British counterparts, commenced in 1917. Borstal Training for juveniles continued until 1980, when, due to high recidivist rates, it was abolished.

Photo 1

Entrance to Mt. Eden Prison in the 1950s; a “Black Maria” (prisoner escort vehicle) is in the foreground.

Between 1840 and 1935, 76 men and one woman were hanged in New Zealand (all but one for murder), but in 1935 executions ceased, and in 1941 capital punishment for murder, along with corporal punishment, was legally repealed. Hanging for murder was reintroduced in 1951, and eight more men were executed before the penalty was struck out again in 1961. Hanging remained for crimes such as treason but was repealed completely in 1989.

The 1950s and 1960s were periods of great experimentation in New Zealand corrections. During the 1950s, full-time welfare officers were appointed to all prisons, hours of lockup were reduced, education services were improved, and opportunities for recreation were extended. In 1950, centralized training for prison officers commenced. In 1961 the first “boot camps” for juveniles—known initially as Detention Centers after their British counterparts and renamed Corrective Training Centers in 1981—were established and remained until high recidivism prompted their closure in 2002. In 1961 a work-release scheme was started, and in 1965 weekend furloughs for low-risk inmates began. Today, minimum-security prisoners (more than half of all inmates) are eligible to apply for a 72-hour “home leave,” plus traveling time, every two months.

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