Two new high security units will be built at Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison, Corrections Minister, Mark Mitchell, has announced.
“With the prison population increasing due to the governments strong measures on law-and-order, these two new units will add more capacity and resilience to our prison system,” said Mr Mitchell.
Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison currently has an operational capacity of 755. The two new units will bring this to 1,071 when they open in 2027.
The design and build agreement for the new units was signed on 31 October with contractor Naylor Love and construction work on the 316 beds to start next month, the Minister confirmed.
“They are due to be finished and fully operational in early 2027,” he said.
“86% of prisoners have convictions for violence or sexual crimes in their offending histories and 38% of prisoners have a gang affiliation.
“Our work to restore law and order is paying off. New Zealand’s prison population has increased by 1,911 since October 2023 and this growth is projected to continue as we remain focused on keeping violent criminals off the street. Its no coincidence that we have 38,000 fewer victims of violent crime compared to last year. Corrections is well prepared for this and operational capacity currently exceeds the prison population.”
The new units at Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison will deliver an accelerated increase in capacity ahead of further work underway to ensure New Zealand’s prison system has the capacity it needs going forward, he said.
This includes the new facility at Waikeria Prison opened earlier this year which added 500 high-security beds to the national prison network alongside 96 dedicated beds for mental health and addiction services. Additional projects underway at Waikeria Prison and Christchurch Men’s Prison will further increase capacity by more than 1,000 beds in 2029.
“We also have nearly 900 additional Corrections Officers working on the frontline since the launch of Corrections’ highly successful recruitment campaign in February 2024. The campaign has attracted around 150,000 applications, and Corrections has halved its turnover rate in just two years.” says Mr Mitchell.
“Taking these steps now ensures Corrections is in a strong position to safely manage future growth of the prison population and keep Kiwis safe from violent offenders.”
Corrections is self-funding the new units at Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison through the department’s existing budget. No additional funding has been required for this work.
