'Pigeon infestation' and margarine sandwiches among Spring Hill prison inspection findings

Wednesday, 22 July 2026

The 'pigeon infestation' had been flagged in a 2017/18 inspection of Spring Hill, and Corrections said the prison design made it hard to solve.

A “pigeon infestation” and margarine-only sandwiches for lunch are among problems uncovered during an inspection of Spring Hill Corrections Facility.

While there were pockets of good practice in the north Waikato prison, inspectors had some “serious concerns”, a report says.

This included a five-year period with no drug testing, long waits for inpatient mental health care, clothing and bedding concerns, and difficulties with prisoners seeing people like health and education staff.

The Office of the Inspectorate did the inspection in May 2025, a report signed off by chief inspector Janis Adair said. It also noted Spring Hill’s shift towards housing remand prisoners - they represented 76% of the population of 829.

Inspectors found that a long-running pigeon infestation, also noted in a 2017/18 inspection, still posed health risks.

“Despite ongoing cleaning and other mitigations by the site, some areas were filthy, with large amounts of excrement, and dead birds and old nests caught in metal grilles,” the report said.

It noted that the “pigeon infestation” had closed an outdoor courtyard intended for prisoners and their visitors.

The outdoor courtyard of the main visits area at Spring Hill Corrections Facility, which was closed due to a 'pigeon infestation'.

However, Corrections didn’t agree that some areas were “not fit for habitation or use”, saying ongoing work was under way. However, the prison's design made it difficult to resolve.

Food was also flagged, as inspectors were told it was common for prisoners to receive margarine-only sandwiches for lunch.

This was unacceptable, the report says, but “sandwiches were being made correctly” when inspectors visited.

“This issue may have been exacerbated by the high turnover of kitchen workers due to the large remand population.”

Security was another concern, with reports of contraband readily available and five years without drug testing. However, random testing restarted in November 2025.

Contraband ranged from cell phones to tattoo equipment to meth and was found 259 times over six months of searches, the report says.

When inspectors visited, sandwiches were being made correctly in the Spring Hill kitchen.

Inspectors were told prisoners traded nicotine lozenges and often “stood over” new prisoners for them “and other items ranging from shoes to chicken dinners”.

However, the intelligence team had developed a contraband dashboard with an “excellent summary” for staff, something inspectors said other prisons could use.

The prison had recorded 1750 “incidents” over the six-month review period, including 50 assaults on staff and 49 prisoner-on-prisoner assaults, the report says.

This photo of a cell with graffiti and peeling paintwork in Unit 16 of Spring Hill was included in the report.

More than half the prison population, 440 prisoners, were registered as gang-affiliated, with Mongrel Mob, Black Power and Killer Beez the largest groups.

The prison hadn’t recorded 10 cases where force was used against prisoners. Forty cases were reviewed, and three were referred to the Integrity Team.

A large chunk of the prison population needed psychological support, with 140 prisoners (about 17%) on the forensic mental health list.

Nine prisoners had been waiting between 33 and 134 days to be admitted to specialist forensic mental health services. Inspectors said that was unacceptable but “may be outside of Corrections’ control”.

Staff also won praise for a weekly multidisciplinary mental health meeting bringing together health, forensic mental health and custodial staff.

A hot meal of a standard portion size in Spring Hill Corrections Facility.

And while custodial staffing sat at 94%, inspectors found frequent sick leave, low morale and an inexperienced workforce often left units short-staffed. That made it difficult for health workers, case managers and education tutors to access prisoners, delaying healthcare, rehabilitation programmes and release planning.

Staffing levels have since increased, Corrections says.

Prisoners also reported problems including old, dirty mattresses, or a lack of bedding for some in some high-security units, and struggles to get more prison-issued clothes.

However, Corrections said a “sizeable investment in clothing and bedding is made each year”.

Despite the concerns, inspectors highlighted several other examples of good practice. The health team was nearly fully staffed and delivered a good standard of care when prisoners could be seen.

Inspectors also praised the prison's Future Leaders programme, a specialist unit for vulnerable prisoners, and the Special Treatment Unit's therapeutic rehabilitation programmes.

Corrections said it was developing an action plan to respond to the report’s findings, and was “committed to continuous improvement”.