22 September 2020
C124282
Caleb Lane on behalf of Moka Harris
[FYI request #13295 email] Dear Moka
I refer to your email of 13 July 2020, requesting information about canteen
(P119) items available in prisons. Your request has been considered under the
Official Information Act 1982 (OIA).
As previously advised, Corrections extended the timeframe of our response to
you pursuant to section 15A(1)(b) of the OIA.
People in prison are provided with meals and essential health, sanitary, and
hygiene products. People can also purchase additional goods through the P119
prisoner canteen. The goods on the P119 list include supplementary food items,
hygiene and sanitary products as well as stationery and other miscellaneous
items. In February 2018, Corrections carried out a review of the products
available on the P119, which took into consideration people’s views on their
preferred items. A range of products were approved for addition to the
catalogue. These include nuts, seeds, dried fruit, sachets of tuna and salmon,
beef jerky, shortbread, protein powder and flavoured couscous snacks.
You requested:
I request a list of the approved items and codes. If these items vary by
prison or facility, I request that the list broken down by prison or facility. If
the items vary by security classification, I request that items unavailable
to a particular security classification are marked as such.
Please find attached as Appendix One a list of the items that people held in
Corrections-managed prisons may purchase as at August 2020.
The purchase of razors is restricted for people in High Security Units, Maximum
Security Units and the Intervention and Support Units (ISU). Further, items such
as toothbrushes, combs, tweezers, nail clippers/files or any other item that can
be modified to be sharp or pointed may be controlled. These types of items may
be held in the guardroom and issued for use over a controlled or monitored
period before they are returned to the guardroom.
I trust the information provided is of assistance. Should you have any concerns
with this response, I would encourage you to raise these with Corrections.
Alternatively, you are advised of your right to also raise any concerns with the
Office of the Ombudsman. Contact details are: Office of the Ombudsman,
PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143.
Yours sincerely
Robert Jones
Manager Ministerial Services
People & Capability
