As many as 40 prisoners at the Otago Corrections Facility could be offered the chance to boost their job skills while serving prison time, as part of a new scheme aimed at lowering the rate of prisoner reoffending.
Exact details of how the new Government-funded prisoner skills and employment strategy will affect the Milburn facility are as yet unknown, but a Department of Corrections spokesman yesterday said between 30 and 40 more prisoners might be eligible because of the extra funding.
Just over half of the Milburn prison muster - which can reach 335 - are thought to be involved in some formal or informal job training.
The Government this week launched the programme it hopes will reduce the rate of prisoners reoffending after they are released.
About 43% of all prisoners reoffend within a year of their release, and within four years, an estimated 70% of all prisoners released will have committed more crimes.
The spokesman said it was likely some extra Otago prison placements would include work in the timber and dairy industries.
Training would cover subjects like small engines and basic carpentry.
The prison has a dairy farm on its site offering some prisoners the chance to gain new skills in that field, while the Milton area has several timber operations that occasionally employ prisoners.
Corrections Minister Judith Collins said the "alarming" rate of recidivism was one of the more disturbing statistics to come out of the Corrections system, but she was confident the new strategy would help turn those figures around.
"For many prisoners, reoffending is perhaps less a matter of choice than the result of them being poorly equipped to lead a law-abiding and productive life."
Mrs Collins estimated the strategy could empty 165 prison beds each year - saving taxpayers nearly $15 million.
The Government has embarked on an extensive double-bunking project at Otago and other prisons nationally, to boost capacity before prisons reach capacity, forecast for early next year.
