More Volunteers In Prison Means Less Corruption

More Volunteers in Prison Means Less Corruption

The international experience is that where there is a high level of volunteering within prisons, there is a low level of corruption, said Kim Workman, National Director, Prison Fellowship New Zealand, speaking at the beginning of Volunteer Awareness Week.

There are around 2,800 approved prison volunteers who on a regular basis, visit prisons to minister to prisoners, to be a listening ear, and to assist prisoners with their rehabilitation and eventual return to the community. But what many people fail to understand, is that where there is a critical mass of volunteers regularly visiting prisons, they impact positively on the negative prison culture.

Volunteers neutralise the tension that often exists between prison staff and prisoners, and serve to normalise the environment. They are often regarded by prisoners as pro-social role models they will often regard the volunteer as the kind of person they want to be.

The presence of volunteers also means that both prison staff and prisoners moderate their behaviour in some units, where a culture of mutual verbal abuse is the norm, that behaviour is moderated by the presence of outsiders.

The evidence overseas is that where there is a regular presence of volunteers, the level of corruption within the prison reduces. One would think that an increase in outside visitors to a prison would increase the likelihood of illegal activity, but the reverse is true.

In particular, where the volunteers are church-based, they are usually carefully selected by the church leadership, before being nominated as a suitable person to be a volunteder.

While about 85 90% of all prison volunteers in New Zealand are church based they are not just involved in religious activity. They get involved in a range of activity music, sport, arts and crafts, teaching literacy and numeracy, budgeting and one-on-one mentoring.

The faith based unit at Rimutaka Prison is a good example. Volunteers teach music skills, lead a choir, take art classes, mentor prisoners due to be released, and provide support on release. N

one of the faith based unit prisoners randomly tested for drugs in the last 18 months, have tested positive. That is no mean achievement when one considers that the national random positive drug rate in prisons is around 15%.

We consider that one of the factors, is the number of people they interact with, who present a positive lifestyle, and provide an incentive to change.

People interested in volunteering in prisons can enrol through the Department of Corrections website.

ENDS

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