Open Writing

Milton has been on the map, flags flying and TV cameras everywhere. Our Prime Minister, Helen Clark, has been in town to open the new “Milton Hilton''.

The Milton Hilton is a state of the art prison, medium to maximum security and you name it it’s got it. Under-floor heating, individual cells with en suites, gym, basket ball courts and a full size rugby pitch, not to mention all the workshops etc. Little old age pensioners are considering putting bricks through shop windows in the hope of “wintering over” and avoiding big power bills.

When first mooted there was a great deal of opposition from the farmers in the area, “not in our backyard,” but once planning permission had been granted things began to move. Milton, as a town, has really benefited from the influx of construction workers and we have an up-graded water supply, new sewerage system and the outlying properties are now on main drains instead of sceptic tanks. Endless road works have been carried out and the health centre, ambulance and fire station have been improved too.

The construction workers have now left and the permanent staff has moved in. House prices have soared and school rolls increased so we are all very optimistic and don’t think that any would-be escapee will book into the local motel before heading for the hills. Of course there are those who say that the prison will attract undesirable elements to the town but I can’t see the Mongrel Mob moving to Milton just because one of their members is passing his “initiation rites” by serving a term in jail.

While all this was going on I was in the hair salon. I threw in the comment, “has Helen been in for a hair-do?” Having settled that she hadn’t nor did she buy her lunch at the café next door, we all got down to talking about the prison.

“They are advertising for cleaners.”

“They’re not, are they?” “Why can’t they do their own cleaning?” And so it went on until things took on a more serious note.

Our Prime Minister had spoken about “hoping prisons like this would stop the revolving door syndrome.” Here the prisoner has every chance to turn his life round. As you drive by the old prison in Dunedin you see barred windows in the Victorian style. Inside there is no room for rugby pitches and other amenities, certainly no single cells and en suites, just incarceration.

What can the prisoners in the new “Hilton” expect? They will have a structured life, up at an early hour, regular meals and work. They will be trained in skills they haven’t had before in the workshops, they will be in charge of the farm and the gardens and go out on supervised work schemes and prior to their release they will live in small flats, within the prison, and run their own lives. They will be given the opportunity to learn to read and write, as many are illiterate, and for those who are capable, as in the case of Alan Duff, the author of “Once we were warriors,” (the book is better than the film) there will be the chance to further their education up to degree level. Alan Duff incidentally, completely turned his life around and now works hard for children at risk.

The cleaners will not be cleaning their cells, they are strictly for the administration blocks, “no go” areas for the inmates. In short, if he has the desire and the initiative, it is possible for the prisoner to leave with trade certificates and the experience of a disciplined life which will enable him to break with his old habits and surroundings and to become a responsible member of society. He will not have been treated like an animal; he will have had dignity and privacy in his own cell. He will not have had the freedom to go to the local pub; he will have been taken out of society and locked up at 8.30 pm each night. What he does in the privacy of his own cell is then up to him.

Will the revolving door stop? For many I doubt it. The Jesuits had a saying, “give me a child for seven years and he is ours for life.” That is where the trouble with the recidivist offender lies. Born into dysfunctional and violent homes, with no moral standards, it becomes the survival of the fittest. No one checks on their school attendance, no one loves them or cares for them. They join up with undesirable elements, drink and take drugs and turn to crime to finance their addictions. Brought up in violent surroundings, violence is the norm and the circle continues.

Or does it? Sometimes children rise above even the worse conditions, something in them wants a better life for themselves and their children. They don’t want to be down and outs, but it is very hard to rise above things in a society which condemns you for your background. Nor should we just equate prisoners with the socio-economic bracket, children from homes where they are overindulged, spoilt and never made to be responsible for their own actions are just as liable to end up in court. Children from wealthy homes, with everything which money can buy, but lacking that one important factor “time,” for time is the best thing we can give our children, without it they grow up just as neglected as the “underprivileged,” and some folk are just plain bad. Prisoners are a strange mix of people.

But once out of prison, what does the prisoner, now educated and capable of holding down a good job, do? Is he welcomed into the local Rotary club? Do people extend the hand of friendship or offer him a job? It isn’t that easy. For a few very determined men release will mean a new beginning, others will try and eventually give up, while even more will be met by their mates at the prison gates and return to their old ways. The door will keep revolving.

Meanwhile we drive past this new attraction with its high walls and security lights, better than Blackpool illuminations, and admire the beautifully landscaped surroundings which will soon hide the walls. We would like to believe that these sort of opportunities and facilities will end crime, but human nature being what it is, we know it won’t.