REVEALED: Prisoner BORA Breaches Cost Corrections Nearly $1.8 Million

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union can reveal that the Department of Corrections has spent $1.79 million between 2022 to 2024 in settlements relating to breaches of prisoners’ rights under the Bill of Rights Act.

This includes $1.29 million in compensation and a further $492,170 in legal costs across 86 settled cases, including matters relating to inhumane treatment, discrimination, liberty, and unreasonable search and seizure.

Taxpayers’ Union Investigations Coordinator, Rhys Hurley, said:

“No matter what you think about how criminals should be treated, more than $1.2 million in compensation is a significant cost to taxpayers and points to an ongoing issue within the system.”

“Prisoners are entitled to the same legal rights as the rest of us, and these costs are ultimately the result of failures within Corrections that should not be happening.”

“Instead of wasting $9 million on rongoā Māori services and $4 million on advertising campaigns, Corrections should be getting back to basics. That money would be better spent supporting frontline staff to do their jobs properly. especially when they’re among the lowest paid in the public service.”

“Rather than taxpayers continuing to foot the bill year after year, the expectation needs to be that Corrections gets on top of these issues and reduces the need for these payouts at all.”