New Plymouth's remand centre described as 'hot spot' for violence among prisoners

Sunday, 9 September 2018

The New Plymouth Remand Centre, in the city's police station, has been called a 'hot spot' for violence in a report from the Chief Ombudsman released last week.

New Plymouth's remand centre has been described as a 'hot spot' for violence, recording one of the highest rates of assault within all prison facilities located in the lower North Island.

A report released last week by Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier into conditions within Whanganui Prison includes details of an unannounced visit to the New Plymouth Remand Centre (NPRC), which is located within the city's police station.

The management of NPRC comes under the purview of Whanganui Prison officials.

Boshier found there was a high number of violent incidents notified each month within the prison environment, with an average number of 18.

NPRC, along with a unit within Whanganui prison, had the highest number of recorded assaults of all the Department of Corrections' lower north region facilities, the report said.

This regional area includes Corrections' facilities in the Hawke's Bay, Manawatū and Wellington.

The remand centre houses male, female and youth offenders and it, along with a unit within Whanganui prison, has recorded the highest number of assaults within Corrections' Lower North region.

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NPRC, which opened in 2013, is a 24/7 operation which houses both male, female and youth offenders.

A previous inspection was carried out at the facility in March 2017 with a further unannounced visit conducted 12 months later.

During the latest visit, the report outlined how NPRC staff spent much of their time managing the different prisoner categories.

'They reported that the muster pressures had greatly impacted on the Centre and that the focus had shifted from a remand holding centre to that of a temporary prison.'

During its February 2018 visit to Whanganui prison, which was also unannounced, inspectors were told NPRC had become a recent 'hot spot' for incidents.

'Staff at NPRC attributed the rise in incidents to changes in the types of prisoners they were receiving, including prisoners with more complex mental health and behavioural issues, and prisoners with gang connections.'

Inspectors were also at NPRC when what they termed a 'significant incident' took place.

While specific details were not released in the report, it did say a makeshift weapon was involved and the incident 'appeared to have been orchestrated by an influential gang member'.

In the report, Boshier also highlighted what he believed was the 'unlawful denial' of visitors to see inmates who were housed at the unit for longer than a week.

The gang influence in Whanganui prison has been highlighted in a recent report by the Chief Ombudsman. (File Photo)

Corrections had previously advised there was no safe area within the facility to host prisoner visits but Boshier said there was no statutory authority to deny them on that basis.

While most stayed at the facility for 1-5 days, others were there for weeks and in one case a prisoner was housed there for five months.

'I consider that failing to accommodate private visitors for those prisoners, on the basis that there is no area in which to conduct them, is an unlawful denial of their minimum statutory entitlements,' Boshier said.

To that end, he made a repeated recommendation for visitation arrangements to be made for offenders who are at NPRC for longer than seven days. A minimum entitlement is one visit a week for 30 minutes.

This recommendation has since been accepted by Corrections.

Meanwhile, Boshier has called on the Government agency to take urgent steps to curb violence and intimidation among inmates within Whanganui Prison, which has a population of 557.

'Levels of notifiable incidents of violence each month were high. Non-notifiable incidents such as fighting, sparring and unexplained injuries were also high. Prisoners reported that stand-overs and bullying were common. More than 40 per cent of prisoners were gang members or affiliates, yet the Prison did not have an active gang management strategy.'

The report stated that of the 252 gang members identified in the prison - 44 per cent of the total prison population - 92 identified as Black Power.

This was almost double the amount of Mongrel Mob members, which had the next highest tally of 56.