Standing guard for 42 years

By MICHELLE LOTTER - North Shore Times

Doug Keith has dealt with threats, riots and colleagues being held hostage.

This month the 68-year-old Devonport resident marked 42 years of service with the Justice Department, including working as one of the original security personnel at Auckland Prison in Paremoremo.

His time as an officer, which saw him based at Mt Eden Prison from 1965 until 1967 before moving to Paremoremo a few months after it opened in 1968, was acknowledged by Corrections Minister Judith Collins, chief executive Barry Matthews and northern regional manager Warren Cummins.

After nine years in the navy as a mechanical engineer, Mr Keith moved to prison work and climbed the ranks to second officer.

"I’m working with a group of good staff. Without them I wouldn’t have survived."

And he’s had to survive quite a lot. Not long after it opened, rioting broke out at Auckland Prison in 1970 and four staff were held hostage from about 11am to 10pm.

The hostages were eventually released and the prisoners responsible were sentenced in court, he says.

"That was difficult then and for some time afterwards," he says.

"We all knew it could happen and this was like a truck driver knowing he could go off the road. It’s part of the job. That’s the nature of the beast we work for."

And he learned to deal with any threats.

"Threats that are made by inmates are more hinted at than outright threats. You either cope with that or get out of the game.

"I suppose traffic wardens have got a harder job than we do."

Another aspect that kept him in his job was that officers were "reasonably well paid at that stage, we’re not now".

But that hasn’t stopped him from getting up for work five days a week and at 68 he has no idea when he’s retiring.

His position involves supervising contractors who are doing on-site maintenance, he says.

"While I feel I’m doing a worthwhile job, I can still do it."