A prisoner escort vehicle broke down last week while carrying four inmates, who had to wait nearly three hours for a replacement vehicle.
A Corrections spokesperson confirmed to RNZ the vehicle broke down on Friday while transporting four prisoners from a Greymouth court back to Christchurch Men's Prison and Christchurch Women's Prison.
Corrections staff followed "established protocol", and there was no risk to public safety at the time, they said.
"A replacement vehicle was dispatched immediately and arrived approximately two-and-a-half hours after the breakdown occurred."
The cause of the breakdown was unknown as the van was being assessed by a mechanic.
"Safety is our number one priority and we have a robust system in place to ensure prisoners can be safely transported between prisons, courts, specialist medical facilities and rehabilitation providers," the Corrections spokesperson said.
"We carry out tens of thousands of these prisoner escorts each year. A review is not required, as staff took the appropriate action to safely manage and resolve the incident."
