Rhonda Hapi-Smith

Rhonda Hapi-Smith followed her father and siblings into the prison service at the age of 30 and worked for 20 years as a prison officer, Control and Restraint Instructor, and member of the Riot Squad at Hawkes Bay Regional (Mangaroa) Prison. In her later career she transferred to Rimutaka Prison and worked among some of New Zealand's most dangerous inmates before leaving Corrections in 2017. Many times as she walked the prison floors, she was writing this book in her head.