All five Community Corrections offices in Christchurch were evacuated this afternoon following a threat made to a staff member.

Southern Region Operations Director Kylie Macdonald said all sites were evacuated at approximately 2.30pm.

“We take threats to the operation and security of our facilities very seriously and have detailed protocols for dealing with incidents of this nature.

Police were notified immediately.”

All sites returned to normal operations two hours later after police advised it was safe for staff to return to the offices. 

We will continue to help police with their enquiries Macdonald said.