Officers in two prisons are to start wearing cameras from 2014 as part of a six-month trial to increase safety.
Staff working in maximum and high security areas at Auckland Prison at Paremoremo and Rimutaka Prison in Upper Hutt, as well as handlers of drug dogs, will begin wearing the cameras in January.
The Government says any footage gathered will be used as evidence in courts and complaints processes and to improve staff training.
Corrections Minister Anne Tolley says the ministry is talking with the Privacy Commissioner about how the footage could be used and managed.
She says the technology should act as a deterrent in some potentially violent situations.