Rhonda Hapi-Smith never intended on following her father and brothers into New Zealand's corrections service. But at a crossroads in life as she approached the age of 30, she relented and became a prison guard, working at some of the country's most notorious jails. But 20 years of keeping convicted criminals in line and keeping her work and personal life separate took their toll. 

In this episode, Rhonda details what it's really like inside prison from someone who enforced the rules. She also speaks about the about the many internal conflicts she endured, including imprisoned family members, the role of the Māori and having empathy and compassion for prisoners.

LINKS

• Grab a copy of Rhonda's book 'Inside The Wire'
• Follow Ant on Instagram, X, and Facebook
• Learn more about Ant on his website antmiddleton.com
• Follow Nova Podcasts on Instagram for videos from the podcast and behind the scenes content – @novapodcastsofficial.

CREDITS

Host: Ant Middleton
Editor: Adrian Walton
Executive Producer: Damien Haffenden 
Managing Producer: Elle Beattie

Nova Entertainment acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land on which we recorded this podcast, the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation. We pay our respect to Elders past and present.