Corrections is investigating allegations of gang members in Christchurch Men’s Prison manufacturing motorcycle accessories and arranging for them to be taken off-site.

In a statement to chrislynchmedia.com,  Commissioner Custodial Services Leigh Marsh said the engineering workshop at Christchurch Men’s Prison has been immediately closed following allegations of unlawful activity in the workshop.

Police have been notified and Corrections is carrying out a site-wide review to ensure any illegal activity is identified and cannot continue.

“Following the arrest and subsequent charging of a corrections officer who allegedly attempted to introduce contraband into Christchurch Men’s Prison in March, further investigations have uncovered potential unlawful activity involving gang members working in the site’s engineering workshop. This involved prisoners manufacturing items, believed to be motorcycle accessories, and arranging for them to be transported off-site.”

Marsh said “the engineering workshop will remain closed pending the outcome of our investigation and any Police enquiries. Two prisoners have had their employment in the workshop terminated immediately and their security classifications reviewed.

“Enquiries to determine staff involvement in this activity are ongoing. Any staff members identified as potentially being involved in unlawful activity will be subject to further investigation and may face Police charges.

This behaviour is not tolerated and we take any allegations of this nature extremely seriously” Marsh said.

“Prisoners will often go to extreme lengths to continue offending while in prison. Our staff manage around 9,900 prisoners, who are some of New Zealand’s most dangerous people and can be highly manipulative. Sometimes prisoners place a significant amount of pressure on people to continue carrying out their illegal activities in prison.

“Regardless, Corrections expects a high standard of integrity and professionalism from all our employees. We are a large employer, with around 10,000 staff, and the overwhelming majority of our people act with integrity, honesty and professionalism in what is often a high pressure and challenging environment. When staff do not meet the standards required of them, we take the appropriate action.

As police have been advised and Corrections’ investigation is ongoing, we are limited in the amount of information that we are able to provide at this stage.”