David Farrar: Better phone access for prisoners

Christine McCarthy makes the case for having phones in cells:

Telephones in prison cells are becoming the norm in countries such as England and Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France, and Belgium. The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisoners in the UK both welcomed this. In New Zealand, only the Serco-run Auckland South Corrections Facility has in-cell telephones, which the Ombudsman has supported.

Some people might find the idea of in-cell telephones too liberal a move. However, such a change would not affect current processes requiring telephone numbers to be approved or prisoners’ phone calls to be recorded and monitored.

Instead, this change would enable prisoners to be part of the everyday lives of their whānau – for example, to help their children with homework questions and support their partners with day-to-day family decisions.

My first instinct was this would be too permissive, but if the policies of approved phone numbers and monitoring remained, the arguments against are diminished. The fact it already occurs in one prison (the privately run one) should serve as a good basis to roll it out to other prisons.

David Farrar runs Curia Market Research, a specialist opinion polling and research agency, and the popular Kiwiblog where this article was sourced. He previously worked in the Parliament for eight years, serving two National Party Prime Ministers and three Opposition Leaders.