Justice Ministry priorities

Secretary for Justice Mark Short has advised that the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) met with the Budget Policy Committee on Monday alongside the Police, Crown Law, and Financial Investigation Unit to provide feedback to the committee on the issues and priorities regarding law and order.
The MOJ noted that the ministry is understaffed with 2-3 staff doing the jobs for 4-6 people.
An example of this is the Companies and Birth, Deaths and Marriages Division. There are only 2 staff which processes all applications for marriages carried out in the Cook Islands, applications for Birth certificates and over 1000 registered companies.
The Prison is also understaffed and needs an extra 3 wardens to ensure proper security of our inmates.
The Land division needs restructuring and upgrading to ensure all documents are electronic and accurate because some people have been able to gain access to land.
The new Minister for Justice Apii Piho Member of Parliament for Manihiki also previous Director for Business Trade Investment Board was taken to the Prison grounds for the first time on Monday 11th January 2010 to look at the problem areas first hand.
Mr. Piho and Mr. Short were appalled by the state of the Prison grounds.
From the rusted bars of the prison cells to the extent where inmates could easily breakout with the right amount of force applied, a rotting wooden ceiling unfit for any living condition to the deteriorating buildings, Mark Short said “in a nutshell no major maintenance or renovation has been done since 1953 when is the Prison was built.”
Mr. Short said they are considering renovating the three to four (3 -4) buildings behind the prison camp that were once used to house the wardens from the outer islands as a training centre.
In addition they are also looking at the option of utilising the massive landmass to grow their own food crop as well as farm their own piggery, cows, chickens for eggs etc.
Fundamentally developing and utilising the large landmass as a form of food supply as this will allow the prisoners to become self sufficient and will in turn have less demand on the Government financially.

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