PHONE-TAPS TRACK INMATES' DODGY PLANS

Inmates have been caught planning bank robberies, drug deals, fraud
and a raft of gang-related activities thanks to a new phone-monitoring
system in prisons.

The $567,000 system, which was rolled out between November and April,
means Corrections staff can monitor calls made to inmates in jails
throughout the country.

Despite signs and a prerecorded voice message which warn that calls
are being monitored, inmates continue to plan and commit crimes over
the phone.

The latest case happened this month at Waikeria Prison when an inmate
was caught making serious threats against his estranged partner.

"This prisoner was terrorising his partner and she was too scared to
come forward and make a statement," said Corrections Minister Phil
Goff.

The recorded threats were passed to police, who charged the inmate. He
has since pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.

Corrections' support services manager, Karen Urwin, said the man was
just one of many who had been caught. The first monitored phone call
uncovered evidence of fraud and an aggravated robbery and there had
been plenty of other cases since.

"We have had a really good success with it ... The list of things we
have managed to get really good information about are bank robberies,
domestic violence, fraud - particularly relating to other government
departments - drug importation and distribution and also a lot of the
run-of-the-mill gang activity that's going on."

A lot of people involved in gang activity had the means to continue
committing crime from behind bars. It was with that knowledge that the
monitoring system was installed.

However, Ms Urwin said warnings that phone calls would be monitored
did not seem to deter some inmates - or they just did not realise the
implications of being caught.

"They are not in prison because they are smart, that's the reality,"
she said. "I'm astonished myself. You think, 'Good grief, they get the
message, there's the phone there and they still continue to do it'."

Further measures, such as cellphone-blocking devices which will be in
all jails by early next year, are expected to make it harder for
inmates to commit crime or threaten others from inside.

As well, changes to the Corrections Act currently before Parliament
will give prison staff greater powers to search inmates' mail.