Wellington, Dec 16 NZPA - The previous government ignored official advice about the pressure on prison space, Corrections Minister Judith Collins said today.

Ms Collins said briefing papers from the department identified two key challenges: ongoing pressure on prison capacity and strong growth in the community offender population.

She said the papers showed the prison population started increasing in 2003 when it stood at less than 6000.

"Although the introduction of new community sentences has had an impact on the prison population, it is forecast to rise to around 10,700 by 2016," Ms Collins said.

"An immediate concern is the prospect that existing prison beds will be exhausted by mid-2010."

She said that for years the Labour government denied that another new prison needed to be built, and the briefing papers showed advice from officials was ignored.

"The pressure on prison capacity and the Community Probation Service are shameful examples of Labour's bad planning in the Corrections sector," she said.

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