Annah Stretton says to build Waikeria prison extension

Annah Stretton of Reclaim Another Woman (RAW) has called for a reframing of how we should look at prisons.

“Given that RAW has now worked with a diversity of offending women for the last 4 years there are voices that need to be heard and these are words that come from the women who have been or are currently in prison themselves,” Ms Stretton said.

“All of them say that prison was the one thing that called a halt (interrupted) the offending that would not have happened with a community sentence.

“Prisons aren’t a university of crime as Professor Ian Lambie of Auckland University’s psychology department calls them. They should be seen as an opportunity to offer change and learning both academic and life-skills to a demographic that has suffered from intergenerational disadvantage, that the system has failed repeatedly.”

Click here to read the full media release by Annah Stretton showing her support to build the Waikeria Prison extension.